As the novel coronavirus continues to create panic in the rest of the world Taiwan is struggling to contain the swine flu that has already taken the lives of 56 people in the state. In the past three months, Taiwan has been struggling to contain the flu.
Seasonal influenza has been posing a threat when compared to the new coronavirus from Wuhan. According to the Centre for Disease Control in Taiwan, there have been deaths because of respiratory failure in the patients. The CDC did not reveal the number of deaths in the past week but it was reported by the local media that there have been at least 13 deaths.
It is reported that the cases of the novel coronavirus are 10 in Taiwan and it was detected on people travelling from China.
Flu vaccines to protect the citizens
CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-Hsiang said that over the past one week 116,705 people had sought medical attention for the flu-like symptoms out of which 61 were confirmed cases. The 13 people who passed away in the past one week were said to be aged between 47 and 97. The swine flu has been going around Taiwan since October. It accounted for up to 84.5 percent of the total flu-like symptoms that were found on the island.
There has been a call for taking the flu vaccine following the outbreak. The state spokeswoman said that none of the dead were vaccinated for the flu. From November last year, the CDC in Taiwan operated a seasonal influenza vaccine campaign. It was aimed for students in elementary through high school; health care workers; and senior citizens.
It is not just Taiwan who experiences these outbreaks. In the US there have been over 1,300 deaths from the seasonal flu that is going around the country. This was a preliminary estimate given by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. It is not just the swine flu, there have been several outbreaks of other diseases in Asia alone.
