讀後心得

The Ministry of Health and Welfare's Centers for Disease Control announced today (25th) the second case of severe illness and death from enterovirus this year, involving a newborn baby boy from the northern region who was less than one month old. After contracting the echovirus, the baby developed severe complications. The infant exhibited symptoms of hepatitis and sepsis in mid-March and unfortunately passed away approximately one week after the onset of illness due to multiple organ failure. This year, there have been a total of three confirmed cases of severe enterovirus, including two deaths. Parents are advised to be aware of the related symptoms in 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. This case involves a male infant who is less than one month old in the northern region, and like the first case of the year, he was infected with echovirus and diagnosed with severe enterovirus infection. The infant exhibited symptoms of hepatitis and sepsis in mid-March, and unfortunately passed away after about a week of illness due to septic shock and multiple organ failure.

According to the explanation from the director of the epidemic center of the CDC, the enterovirus epidemic recently remains at a low fluctuating level, but cases of severe enterovirus infections continue to be reported. The preventive medicine physician pointed out that this case involves a premature male infant from the northern region, who was hospitalized after birth due to respiratory distress and entered the pediatric intensive care unit. However, when he was three weeks old, he exhibited symptoms of low oxygen levels, elevated inflammatory markers, and liver indices indicating sepsis. The hospital administered antibiotic treatment, but the infant subsequently developed thrombocytopenia. Diagnostic tests confirmed a severe enterovirus infection, specifically identifying echovirus type 11. During the hospitalization, the child experienced low oxygen levels, low blood pressure, deteriorating kidney and heart function, and abnormal coagulation function, ultimately passing away approximately one week after the onset of the illness due to septic shock and multiple organ failure.

The results of the epidemic investigation indicate that family contacts, newborns, and healthcare personnel associated with the case did not exhibit any suspected symptoms, and the exact source of infection remains to be clarified further. Monitoring data from the CDC shows that fluctuations in enterovirus activity remain at a low level, despite the number of emergency department visits reaching 3,878 last week, with severe enterovirus infection cases being reported.

Director Guo stated that laboratory monitoring results over the past four weeks show that enteroviruses are predominantly coxsackievirus A16, followed by coxsackievirus A6 and echovirus type 11, as well as other serotypes of enteroviruses. Newborns infected with echovirus are more likely to experience severe conditions.

A spokesperson for the CDC mentioned that there have been a total of three confirmed cases of severe enterovirus infections so far this year, with two resulting in death; all of these cases were infected with echovirus type 11, and two of the cases involved newborns under one month old. The number of severe cases is slightly higher than the figures for the same period from 2021 to 2024 (which ranged from 0 to 1 case), and the public is urged to be aware of the warning signs for severe enterovirus infections in newborns and young children.