Diarrhea Visits Increase by 5000, CDC Estimates Epidemic to Continue Rising in Coming Week
Taiwan CDC reported over 120,000 outpatient and emergency visits for diarrhea within a week, driven by holiday gatherings. Norovirus is the main cause, and the trend is expected to rise.
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- 📰 Published: April 14, 2026 at 18:17
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(Central News Agency reporter Tseng I-ning, Taipei, 14th) The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced today that domestic outpatient and emergency visits for diarrhea exceeded 120,000 between April 5 and 11, an increase of about 5,000 from the previous week. It is assessed to be influenced by the Tomb Sweeping Day long holiday. Considering the recent Mazu pilgrimage activities, it is speculated that the epidemic will continue to rise over the next week.
Kuo Hung-wei, Director of the Epidemic Intelligence Center at the Ministry of Health and Welfare's CDC, stated in a routine weekly epidemic report today that there were a total of 125,205 outpatient and emergency visits for diarrhea from April 5 to 11 domestically. This represents a slight increase from 119,787 visits the previous week, presumably due to the long holiday.
Kuo pointed out that a total of 113 clustered diarrhea cases were reported nationwide from the 11th to the 14th week, most frequently occurring in the food and accommodation industry. Among them, 64 cases tested positive for pathogens, with viral pathogens accounting for 87.5%, mostly norovirus with 50 cases making up 78.1% of positive clusters. Bacterial pathogens accounted for 8 cases (12.5%), including 4 cases of Staphylococcus aureus, 3 of Salmonella, and 1 case with both.
Regarding the changes in the diarrhea epidemic, CDC spokesperson Tseng Shu-hui stated that in previous years, the epidemic mostly rose 1 to 2 weeks after Tomb Sweeping Day and decreased 2 to 3 weeks later. Considering activities such as the Baishatun Gongtian Temple Mazu pilgrimage on foot from Tongxiao, Miaoli, to Chaotian Temple in Beigang, it is assessed that the diarrhea epidemic will continue to rise in the coming week. The CDC will continue to monitor the situation and remind the public to pay attention to food and hand hygiene.
Recently, successive diarrhea clusters have occurred in domestic dining, with Group D Salmonella detected in both Kaohsiung spring rolls and New Taipei bento boxes. Tseng explained that Salmonella has a shorter incubation period and can infect the intestinal mucosa causing bleeding, so some cases might present with bloody stools. However, norovirus remains the main pathogen detected in domestic clusters.
Tseng reminded that patients infected with norovirus excrete hundreds of millions to billions of viral particles during vomiting and diarrhea. However, a very low dose of just 10 to 100 viral particles can cause norovirus infection, which is why it remains the most common cause of most domestic diarrhea clusters.
The CDC urged the public to properly wash hands with soap or hand wash after using the toilet and before eating or preparing meals. People should avoid raw food and raw drinks, consuming food only after it is thoroughly cooked. Food should be properly covered and stored; if any unusual smell, discoloration, or abnormal texture is noticed before eating, it should be avoided to reduce risks. Those with suspected symptoms such as vomiting or diarrhea should rest at home until at least 48 hours after symptoms resolve.
Kuo Hung-wei, Director of the Epidemic Intelligence Center at the Ministry of Health and Welfare's CDC, stated in a routine weekly epidemic report today that there were a total of 125,205 outpatient and emergency visits for diarrhea from April 5 to 11 domestically. This represents a slight increase from 119,787 visits the previous week, presumably due to the long holiday.
Kuo pointed out that a total of 113 clustered diarrhea cases were reported nationwide from the 11th to the 14th week, most frequently occurring in the food and accommodation industry. Among them, 64 cases tested positive for pathogens, with viral pathogens accounting for 87.5%, mostly norovirus with 50 cases making up 78.1% of positive clusters. Bacterial pathogens accounted for 8 cases (12.5%), including 4 cases of Staphylococcus aureus, 3 of Salmonella, and 1 case with both.
Regarding the changes in the diarrhea epidemic, CDC spokesperson Tseng Shu-hui stated that in previous years, the epidemic mostly rose 1 to 2 weeks after Tomb Sweeping Day and decreased 2 to 3 weeks later. Considering activities such as the Baishatun Gongtian Temple Mazu pilgrimage on foot from Tongxiao, Miaoli, to Chaotian Temple in Beigang, it is assessed that the diarrhea epidemic will continue to rise in the coming week. The CDC will continue to monitor the situation and remind the public to pay attention to food and hand hygiene.
Recently, successive diarrhea clusters have occurred in domestic dining, with Group D Salmonella detected in both Kaohsiung spring rolls and New Taipei bento boxes. Tseng explained that Salmonella has a shorter incubation period and can infect the intestinal mucosa causing bleeding, so some cases might present with bloody stools. However, norovirus remains the main pathogen detected in domestic clusters.
Tseng reminded that patients infected with norovirus excrete hundreds of millions to billions of viral particles during vomiting and diarrhea. However, a very low dose of just 10 to 100 viral particles can cause norovirus infection, which is why it remains the most common cause of most domestic diarrhea clusters.
The CDC urged the public to properly wash hands with soap or hand wash after using the toilet and before eating or preparing meals. People should avoid raw food and raw drinks, consuming food only after it is thoroughly cooked. Food should be properly covered and stored; if any unusual smell, discoloration, or abnormal texture is noticed before eating, it should be avoided to reduce risks. Those with suspected symptoms such as vomiting or diarrhea should rest at home until at least 48 hours after symptoms resolve.