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Taiwan seeks a leading role in disease control

Taiwan expects to play a leading role in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum's emergency communicable disease reporting and monitoring system, a senior government official said in Bangkok yesterday.

Center for Disease Control Director General Su Ih-jen (蘇益仁), who arrived in Bangkok on Thursday to attend a meeting of APEC health ministers and senior officials , said the regional economic forum has established an emergency reporting and monitoring system for dengue fever, enterovirus, AIDS and tuberculosis.

During APEC's first-ever health ministers and senior officials meeting yesterday and today, Su said an emergency reporting and monitoring system for SARS is expected to be crafted under an APEC framework.

"With our experience in battling the atypical pneumonia, we hope to play a major role in APEC's SARS emergency reporting and monitoring system," Su said.

Su said he would hold bilateral talks with his counterparts from nine other APEC member economies on the sidelines of the senior health officials meeting yesterday afternoon.

During bilateral talks, Su said he would seek support for Taiwan's bid to play a leading role in the regional campaign against SARS and various other communicable diseases.

However, Su would not divulge the names of the countries whose health representatives he would meet.

Su said his delegation would have contacts with its Chinese counterpart but was not expected to hold bilateral talks.

Su represented Taiwan in the multilateral APEC senior health officials meeting yesterday afternoon, while Department of Health Director Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) is to represent Taiwan in the multilateral APEC health meeting today.

The two-day meeting is focusing on the establishment of standard SARS prevention and monitoring operations in the Asia-Pacific region, the impact of the recent SARS outbreak on the regional economy and post-SARS economic stimulus measures.

In related news, Taiwan will strengthen cooperation with Thailand in tropical epidemics research, Chen said yesterday in Bangkok.

Chen said the decision for such cooperation was made during his visit to Mohidol University in suburban Bangkok yesterday afternoon.

Chen said Mohidol University is famous for its research into tropical diseases and epidemics.

"We'll reinforce cooperation with the university in tropical diseases research, particularly in dengue fever research and prevention," Chen said.

The Taiwanese delegation exchanged views with Mohidol University scholars on clinical treatment for dengue fever patients and production of vaccines.

Chen said the two sides agreed to exchange information in dengue fever research and prevention and exchange graduate students and scholars.
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