Public enquiries about rapid flu tests and antivirals have been increasing in the wake of a sharp increase in flu-like cases over the past month, an official of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Monday.

Since April, a total of 18 cluster outbreaks of flu have been reported, of which 15 were related to type-B flu infection and mainly occurred at elementary and junior high schools, while the other three were suspected new cases of influenza A(H1N1), according to CDC statistics.

Meanwhile, there have been increases in the weekly number of flu-like cases reported by the nation's emergency departments. Of the reported cases, nearly 90 percent were related to type-B flu, while the other 10 percent were related to the H1N1 virus.

The three H1N1 cluster outbreaks occurred at a kindergarten and two military bases located in the southern county of Chiayi and the central county of Taichung.

Lin attributed the latter two cluster outbreaks to a low H1N1 vaccination rate of less than 5 percent among new servicemen. He said senior servicemen at the two military bases have largely been spared the outbreaks because of relatively high H1N1 vaccination rates of between 80 percent and 90 percent among regular servicemen.

He added that the CDC will suggest that the "Ministry of National Defense" should get all servicemen vaccinated against H1N1.

Lin said there are still 7.9 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine and 300,000 doses of seasonal flu vaccine available and urged the 75 percent of the population that has not been immunized to get an H1N1 shot at any of the 690 vaccination centers around Taiwan.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 05/11/2010 page4)