As many as 56 people in Taiwan have died of H1N1 virus-affected respiratory failure in the past three months, South China Morning Post reported, highlighting how other viruses have been causing deaths that have gone under the radar.

This figure sounds alarming in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak that started in Wuhan, China, but H1N1 had been the predominant virus type in Taiwan over the past three months.

Fatal for elderly and those with pre-existing conditions

Centres for Disease Control officials in Taiwan did not say how many had died in the past week alone from the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.

However, Taiwan news media reported that it had caused 13 deaths during a one-week period.

A total of 13 people aged between 47 and 97 died of the seasonal flu, including an 80-year-old woman who developed a fever in late December, eventually dying of pneumonia and respiratory failure in hospital, Central News Agency said.

The news report quoted a CDC doctor as saying that the woman had received a flu vaccine before contracting the virus.

The rest of the patients who died of the flu-affected complication of pneumonia and respiratory problems had reportedly not received a vaccine.

H1N1 season

CDC officials said H1N1 had been the predominant virus type in Taiwan over the past three months.

“During this season, there have been 771 influenza cases with severe complications since Oct. 1, including 56 deaths,” a spokeswoman said.

Of the severe cases, 41 percent of the patients were older than 65.

Another 32 percent were in the 50 to 64 age group.

Some 98 percent of those patients had not received any flu vaccines and close to 80 percent had chronic diseases.

Get vaccinated

As it was reported that none of the 43 patients who died from flu complications in the past three months had been vaccinated, Taiwan residents have been urged to get the flu vaccine to better protect themselves.

The CDC has operated a seasonal influenza vaccination campaign since Nov. 15.

Free shots are offered to locals.

They target three groups: Students in primary through high school, health care workers, and senior citizens.

Catching the flu is generally deadly for some.

In the United States, at least 1,300 people have died from the flu so far this season, according to a preliminary estimate by the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

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