The appearance of three cases in Taiwan of an acute form of pneumonia has implicitly exposed the country's isolation from the WHO.
When the three cases of what the WHO is calling "severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)" were reported last week, Twu Shiing-jer (
In the WHO's updated report about the SARS outbreak on Sunday, the organization called the disease "an atypical pneumonia of unknown etiology."
Taiwan's first two cases were reported to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) last Friday. The center reported the two cases to the WHO that day, it said.
The center also immediately reported the third case to the WHO after it was discovered on Saturday, it said.
The WHO issued an emergency travel warning regarding the disease on Sunday and an updated report on the outbreak yesterday.
However, when the WHO listed the countries from where it had received reports of SARS cases in its statements, Taiwan was conspicuously absent from the list.
Nevertheless, the center said it had done its best to keep the WHO up to date on the conditions of Taiwan's SARS cases.
Twu said that during his US visit he appealed for the WHO's help in investigating Taiwan's cases.
"The WHO is coordinating the international investigation of this outbreak and is working closely with health authorities in the affected countries to provide epidemiological, clinical and logistical support as required," the WHO's statement on Sunday said.
Although so far the organization has offered Taiwan no direct assistance, two officials from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC) arrived at Taiwan on Sunday to join the investigation of the cause of the three cases.
On Sunday, Twu expressed disappointment that the WHO did not want to work with Taiwan.
But Chen Tsai-ching (陳再晉), director-general of Taiwan's CDC, said yesterday that the country needed to consider the WHO's dilemma in dealing with such diseases in a non-member state such as Taiwan.
"As long as the WHO has suggested the USCDC send officials to help us, we are very grateful," Chen said.
Hsieh Szu-min (謝思民), an infectious disease specialist from National Taiwan University Hospital, where the first two cases are in quarantine, said the WHO's help would be useful in determining how the two caught the disease.
"As SARS cases have been reported in many countries, transnational cooperation coordinated by the WHO would be more efficient to investigate the cause," Hsieh said.
But Hsieh said he expected a lot from the USCDC officials in examining the cases because "the center is very experienced in investigating unknown agents and viruses."
Hsieh said that over the past few decades, the center had accumulated considerable experience in studying outbreaks and their causes.
DPP lawmaker Lai Ching-te (
"As Taiwan is not a WHO member, it can't join other countries' investigation of SARS cases. It can't obtain first-hand information about the disease from the WHO, either," Lai said.
Taiwan cannot know how many SARS cases there are in other countries immediately, nor can it find out in which areas in the countries these cases were found, Lai said.
"We can't quickly know how these countries treat these cases. We don't know what health policies these countries adopt to contain the spread of the disease," Lai added.
Also See Stories:
Editorial: The Chinese virus invasion
Taiwanese steer clear of Hong Kong
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS