Hand washing urged as diarrhea cases increaseMORE WARY: The rise in the number of cases has been slightly lower this year, which could be because people are practicing disease prevention measures due to COVID-19By Lee I-chia / Staff reporterPeople were urged to wash their hands more frequently after the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported an increase in the number of cases of diarrhea over the past two weeks. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) told a news conference that 138,462 cases of diarrhea were reported last week, adding that 87 clusters of diarrhea cases have been reported nationwide in the past four weeks, with 86 percent of the clusters containing 10 or fewer cases. Fifty-eight of the clusters tested positive for pathogens, with norovirus accounting for 97 percent of the cases, he said, adding that 71 percent of cases had occurred at restaurants and hotels. Centers for Disease Control Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday after the number of cases of diarrhea continued to increase last week. Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei TimesPeople often get together and enjoy meals with family and friends during the Lunar New Year holiday, so diarrhea cases often increase after the holiday, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said.

Source: Taipei Times March 02, 2021 15:56 UTC