The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday confirmed this year’s first case of H7N9 avian influenza in a human — a 69-year-old man who returned from China last month.
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said the man went to Yangjiang City in China’s Guangdong Province in September last year and worked there until the Lunar New Year holiday last month.
“The man said he developed a fever and respiratory symptoms on Jan. 23, before boarding a plane from Macau to Kaohsiung for the holiday,” Lo said. “He is Taiwanese and a resident of Kaohsiung.”
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
He said the man arrived in Taiwan on Jan. 25 and personnel from the CDC quarantine station at Kaohsiung International Airport detected his fever and suggested that he seek medical attention at a hospital.
A hospital diagnosed his condition as a suspected case of type A (H3N2) influenza, but after test results returned negative, the man was given antiviral medicine used to treat flu symptoms and was instructed to rest, Lo said.
However, the man’s fever persisted, and he started coughing up phlegm and having difficulty breathing on Sunday last week, and was hospitalized with a suspected case of pneumonia at an intensive care unit on Wednesday, Lo said, adding that the patient’s case was confirmed as an H7N9 avian influenza infection after the CDC examined a specimen sent by the hospital.
“H7N9 avian influenza is usually transmitted from birds to humans and its early symptoms are similar to those of flu, but the patient’s condition rapidly worsens after a week, developing into a serious case of pneumonia, with a mortality rate of about 30 to 40 percent,” he said.
The patient is still in the intensive care unit, Lo said, adding that an investigation found that two of his colleagues in China had upper respiratory symptoms, but the symptoms subsided after they received medical treatment.
The man’s two relatives showed no avian influenza symptoms, Lo said, adding that the CDC will follow up on the condition of 108 people who had come into contact with the man recently.
The CDC said that 261 cases of H7N9 avian influenza infection in humans have been reported in China since October last year.
It urged the public to exercise caution and avoid direct exposure to poultry when traveling to China, as that nation is at the peak of its flu season.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
‘FALLACY’: Xi’s assertions that Taiwan was given to the PRC after WWII confused right and wrong, and were contrary to the facts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday called Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) claim that China historically has sovereignty over Taiwan “deceptive” and “contrary to the facts.” In an article published on Wednesday in the Russian state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Xi said that this year not only marks 80 years since the end of World War II and the founding of the UN, but also “Taiwan’s restoration to China.” “A series of instruments with legal effect under international law, including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration have affirmed China’s sovereignty over Taiwan,” Xi wrote. “The historical and legal fact” of these documents, as well
RSS