讀後心得

The Ministry of Health and Welfare's Centers for Disease Control announced today the second case of severe hand-foot-mouth disease leading to death this year. The case involves a newborn boy from the northern region who was less than a month old and infected with enterovirus, which led to severe complications. The infant exhibited symptoms of hepatitis and sepsis in mid-March and ultimately passed away about a week after the onset of illness due to septic shock and multiple organ failure. The CDC reminds that although the recent enterovirus epidemic is currently at a low point, there are still reported cases. They urge everyone to pay attention to the health status of newborns and young children.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare's Centers for Disease Control announced today (the 25th) the second case of severe enterovirus-related death this year. The patient was a newborn baby boy from the northern region, who was less than one month old at the time of infection, similar to the first case this year, which was also an infection with enterovirus. He was diagnosed with severe complications due to enterovirus infection. The baby showed symptoms of hepatitis and sepsis in mid-March and unfortunately passed away about a week after the onset due to septic shock and multiple organ failure.

The director of the epidemic center at the Centers for Disease Control stated that the recent enterovirus outbreak is still fluctuating, but there continue to be cases of severe complications from enterovirus infections. In a routine epidemic report, the physician responsible for epidemic prevention indicated that the premature baby was hospitalized due to respiratory difficulties, entering the pediatric intensive care unit in mid-February. However, at three weeks old, he exhibited signs of sepsis with low blood oxygen levels and elevated liver enzymes. Despite treatment with antibiotics, the baby still presented with thrombocytopenia. Further tests confirmed enterovirus infection and subsequently identified it as enterovirus type 11.

During hospitalization, the patient showed symptoms of low blood oxygen, low blood pressure, deterioration of kidney and heart function, and abnormal coagulation function. Ultimately, he succumbed to septic shock and multiple organ failure about a week after the onset of illness. Investigation results showed that there were no suspected symptoms among the patient's family contacts, other newborns in the same ward, and medical staff, and the source of infection remains unclear.

The epidemic center director added that recent monitoring data indicates that the enterovirus epidemic is in a fluctuating phase, with 3,878 visits to emergency and outpatient departments last week, and there are still reports of severe cases caused by enterovirus. Laboratory monitoring results over the past four weeks show that the predominant enterovirus is coxsackievirus A16, followed by coxsackievirus A6 and enterovirus type 11.

Experts state that newborns who are infected with enterovirus are often more likely to develop severe symptoms. So far this year, there have been a total of three cases of severe complications from enterovirus infection (including two fatalities), all of whom were infected with enterovirus type 11, and two cases were newborns under one month old. Compared to the data from the same period in 2021 to 2024, the number of severe cases has slightly increased (ranging from 0 to 1 case). The public is urged to be vigilant about the precursors of severe enterovirus symptoms in newborns and young children.