One case of cholera and three cases of typhus uncovered on Monday in the nation's south are being monitored but pose no danger to public health, the Center for Disease Control said yesterday.
The center yesterday confirmed that three workers at a factory manufacturing soy-bean sauce and ketchup in Pingtung County have been infected with typhus since early this month, but were recovering in hospital.
The source of the infection remained uncertain, though it was reported that the three patients had not been overseas.
The 13 other employees at the factory and the three patients' families have also been cleared of infection. Officials yesterday said that quarantine measures would be imposed on all parties until Aug. 20.
Wu Ping-fuai (吳炳輝), director of the center's Division of Quarantine and Intervention Activities, told the Taipei Times that the situation is under control.
"About 30 cases of typhus occur in Taiwan every year. Due to its lengthy incubation period of two to four weeks, the sources are difficult to confirm," Wu said.
After obtaining three negative test results, the patients will be declared to be disease-free.
Food products manufactured at the factory prior to June 15 have been tested by the Department of Health. Officials said yesterday that results would be released by the weekend.
"The situation is under control because the typhus did not occur in local communities," Wu said.
Meanwhile, the department announced that a Taiwanese man who contracted cholera in Manila remains hospitalized in Kaohsiung. It the first case of cholera contracted overseas this year.
The man is reported to have eaten grilled seafood on Monday last week. The next day, he suffered from acute diarrhea.
The man reported his symptoms when he returned to the country last Wednesday. A diagnosis of cholera was confirmed after an examination.
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