The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 13th urged people to follow respiratory infectious disease prevention guidelines during the Lunar New Year holiday, noting that type B influenza (the flu) continues to spread among children and adolescents.
Health authorities are concerned that the scale of the spread could grow further after the Lunar New Year holiday, when family and relatives gather frequently. With the new school term approaching, authorities also recommended that adolescents who have not been vaccinated get their shots now.
According to the agency, sample surveillance of clinic-level medical institutions showed that during week 6 of this year, from Feb. 1–7, there were 52.6 suspected flu patients per 1,000 outpatients, up about 10.7% from 47.5 the previous week. The spread remains above this season's epidemic threshold (9.1). By age, those 7–12 recorded the highest figure at 167.5. They were followed by ages 1–6 (92.3) and 13–18 (81.2), indicating that cases are concentrated among children and adolescents.
The detection rate of flu virus in respiratory specimens from patients was 38.4% in week 6, down 2.2 percentage points from the previous week, but the detection rate of type B virus continues to rise.
Because the currently circulating type B virus can be prevented with the flu vaccine now in use, it is advisable to get vaccinated now if you have not yet done so. The influenza vaccine is developed, based on World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, to be effective against the viruses expected to circulate that year.
The agency analyzed that because this winter's flu wave started earlier than in previous years, type B influenza is also spreading earlier.
Im Seung-kwan, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Administrator, said, "Please guide school-age children and adolescents at home and elsewhere so they can strictly follow respiratory infectious disease prevention rules, and if they have fever or cough, have them take appropriate rest until they improve."
Administrator Im also said, "Even if you had type A flu, you can be infected again with type B flu, so I ask high-risk groups—including seniors 65 and older, children, and pregnant women—who have not yet been vaccinated to get their shots now."