Taitung County residents traveling abroad, especially those sojourning epidemic areas in Africa, Central and South America, or India — known to have yellow fever, malaria or hepatitis A — no longer have to go to Hualien County or Greater Kaohsiung for vaccinations. Taitung Hospital, under the auspices of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, began accepting appointments for travelers last week. Taitung Hospital president Chu Nain-feng says that his hospital is the first in Taitung County to set up such a travel clinic. Various vaccines are administered according to the specific epidemic situation in the nation you are traveling to, Chu says, adding that the cost of the vaccines must be covered by patients. Vaccines can serve as prophylaxis — a preventative measure taken to help ensure the protection of one’s health.
Traveling abroad is quite popular among Taiwanese and Taitung residents also frequently travel overseas in tour groups, Chu says. The climate, environment, customs and health conditions are different in every country, he says, adding that it is possible to bring back viruses to Taiwan from abroad. For example, Chu says that Africa has yellow fever and malaria, while hepatitis A is common in India, and China offers the threat of wildlife influenza. Some of these are rare diseases in Taiwan, making it easy for misdiagnoses to occur. For this reason, you can avoid infection if you are able to get vaccinated for diseases common in the country that you are traveling to.
The first travel clinic in Taiwan was set up at National Taiwan University Hospital in 2008, Chu says. In recent years, hospitals in Hulien County and Greater Kaohsiung have also set up travel clinics, while none were ever set up in Taitung County. Taitung Hospital, receiving encouragement from the ministry, opened its travel clinic on April 1 in its family medicine department, particularly after considering the increase in Taitung residents traveling abroad extensively and statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, which showed that there were over 130 more cases in Taiwan imported from other countries this year when compared to the same period last year. The hospital recommends that you make inquiries with a travel clinic about vaccines four to six weeks prior to traveling or studying abroad. After determining which vaccines are needed, you should receive the vaccines at the hospital one to two weeks before departure, the hospital says, adding that it also accepts group appointments for people traveling in tour groups.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
Photo: Wang Hsiu-ting, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者王秀亭
台東民眾出國旅遊,尤其到非洲、中南美洲、印度等有黃熱病、瘧疾、A肝等疫區時,出國前不必再花時間到花蓮縣或高雄打疫苗,上週起可就到衛生福利部台東醫院預約旅遊門診,部東院長祝年豐表示,衛生福利部是縣內第一個開設旅遊門診的醫院,須依前往的國家狀況,施打不同的疫苗,屬自費性質,「打一針,保平安」,為自己的身體做好事前預防工作。
祝年豐指出,國人出國旅遊風氣盛,台東民眾也常組團出國,但各地氣候、環境、風俗及衛生狀況不同,有可能將當地疾病帶回台灣,例如非洲裔有黃熱病、瘧疾,印度常見A型肝炎,中國野獸流感威脅,部分疾病在台灣是罕見疾病,容易發生誤診情況,因而出國前,若能先針對旅遊國狀況進行預防疫苗施打,可避免感染疾病。
祝年豐說,旅遊門診最早於二00八年在台大醫院開設,近年來花蓮縣、高雄也有醫院設有旅遊門診,但台東一直無醫院開設,考量台東民眾出國深度旅遊量增加,加上疾管局統計國際重要疫情境外移入病例數,今年與去年同期相較,增加一百三十多件,在衛生福利部的鼓勵下,台東醫院從四月一日起開辦旅遊門診,附設於家醫科下。台東醫院建議,民眾應於出國旅遊或唸書前四至六週向旅遊門診詢問預防接種事項,確定該施打何種疫苗後,於確定出國前一至兩週到醫院接種,針對組團出遊者,醫院也接受團體預約門診。
(自由時報記者王秀亭)
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