SSM March report on infectious diseases shows change in patterns

A recent statistical report published by the Health Bureau (SSM) on the infectious diseases from the mandatory report has shown a change in the pattern of some conditions, the SSM noted.
The statistics release, concerning March, shows that the SSM recorded a total of 163 reports on this kind of medical condition.
One highlight is the incidence of norovirus infections, of which the bureau recorded a total of 17 cases. This figure represents an increase of 750% compared to the same period of the previous year, where only two cases were reported.
When compared month-on-month with the previous month, the March figure accounts for a drop of 45.2%, as in February there were 31 norovirus infections recorded.
For the same period, the SSM recorded three cases of bacterial food poisoning, a significant drop month-on-month as, in February, 17 cases were recorded.
There were 31 cases of chickenpox, an increase of 181.8% year-on-year and an increase of 106.7% month-on-month.
Diagnosed infections of enterovirus have also been growing in March this year, with a total of 26 cases recorded – a spike of 136.4% year-on-year and 36.8% month-on-month.
The flu trended in the opposite direction, as infections of influenza registered a drop as much as 85.7% year-on-year to just one case in March, the same figure recorded in February.
There were also fewer cases of pulmonary tuberculosis, which dropped by 63.6% to a total of 36 cases.
Macau also recorded a total of 11 new infections of HIV.
Currently, there are a total of 44 medical conditions included on the mandatory report scheme, which aims for rapid updates for the measures of prevention and control of said diseases.