TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC, 疾管署) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW, 衛福部) reported on Tuesday (Feb. 11) a troubling spike in influenza cases, with 128 severe cases and 28 deaths last week.
Among the deceased was a boy under 10 from southern Taiwan, who succumbed to complications from septic shock and suspected acute necrotizing encephalopathy after a week-long hospitalization, marking the youngest fatality since the flu season began last October.
Dr. Wu Chang-teng (吳昌騰), a pediatric emergency physician at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou (林口長庚醫院), noted on Facebook that the boy had not received the flu vaccine. He stated that the mortality rate for acute necrotizing encephalopathy, a rapidly progressing and rare brain disease, ranges from 30% to 50%.
Wu explained that acute necrotizing encephalopathy primarily affects males, with 79% of cases occurring in boys, typically after a viral infection causing fever. Common causes include the H1N1 influenza virus, Epstein-Barr virus, and other viral infections. Genetic factors and cytokine storms also contribute to the disease, leading to neuron damage and brain tissue necrosis.
He emphasized the importance of flu vaccination, stating that supportive care, immunomodulators, and IL-6 blockers are current treatment options, though survivors often face severe neurological sequelae.
