The Center for Disease Control warned the public about an outbreak of dengue fever in Pingtung City, raising its alert level to six as two more locally-contracted cases of the disease were reported in the city's Changan borough yesterday.
The man who was the first reported case has been hospitalized, health officials said. His wife and a neighbor, the other two new cases, are also under medical care.
"If anti-mosquito measures cannot be strictly observed, an epidemic may hit Taiwan as hard as it did two years ago," warned Shih Wen-yi (
PHOTO: CNA
To contain the spread of the mosquito-borne disease, the center said it and local health bureaus will start to fumigate the area and step up medical surveillance.
The center called on borough residents to empty flower pots, discarded tires and other containers where stagnant pools could provide a place for virus-carrying Aedes mosquitoes to breed.
The 2002 epidemic, which took 21 lives in the south of the country, was a grim reminder of the disease's lethal potential.
According to Shih, this country is at risk to such epidemics because the south harbors the particular type of mosquitoes that transmit dengue.
The increase in travel by Tai-wanese to dengue-infected South-east Asian countries has also increased the risk. The center's recent figures show that 34 of 38 cases reported this year were contracted abroad.
"Taiwan is increasingly exposed to the danger since its neighbor countries are stricken by the epidemic," Shih said.
Shih mentioned dengue fever's grip on Indonesia earlier this year and reminded tourists headed to that country to take precautions. In Indonesia, more than 9,500 cases were confirmed and at least 191 people died before February.
"People who recently traveled to Indonesia might have unknowingly been infected and brought the virus back to Taiwan. Tourists visiting Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand should use mosquito repellant and dress in protective clothing such as long-sleeved shirts, long pants, socks and shoes," Shih said.
Dengue symptoms usually start with a fever within five to eight days after a person has been bitten by an infected mosquito. Patients sometimes do not know they have dengue since its other symptoms, such as headaches, back and muscle pain could also be caused by other illnesses. In most cases, patients recover completely within two weeks.
Dengue hemorrhage fever, however, which causes severe internal bleeding and can lead to shock, is sometimes fatal, especially in children and young adults.
"Both doctors and the community should know that they are under the threat. We can't afford to take this lightly," Shih said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique