It is possible that SARS will resurface in this country, but the chances of a major outbreak of the killer atypical pneumonia are slim given experience accumulated in fighting the disease, Academia Sinica's vice president said yesterday.
Taiwan's achievements over the past year in the research and development of anti-SARS vaccines, SARS treatment medication as well as SARS virus identifying techniques were commendable, researcher Michael Lai (賴明詔) said.
Lai, reputed to be the father of coronavirus research and who studied the virus for more than 20 years in the US before assuming his job in Taiwan, made the remarks during a speech entitled "The Challenges of Viruses to Modern Societies" at a regular monthly meeting at the President Office yesterday, which was presided over by President Chen Shui-bian (
Experiments on animals have shown that the coronavirus can survive in animals for several months without the animal showing any symptoms, Lai said, adding that the same situation might be true for humans.
This would mean that some people might be carrying the virus without developing the disease, but still be capable of spreading the disease to others, he said.
Genetic analyses conducted in China showed that at least three types of SARS viruses had "jumped" from different types of civets to humans over the past two years, Lai said, adding that this means that SARS viruses could jump to human beings again and again because SARS viruses are already "rooted" in civets.
Against this backdrop, Lai said, SARS could recur as long as the animals exist.
Although the virus can mutate over time, Lai said, it will not change too greatly, and the public can protect itself properly by following the precautionary measures worked out by health agencies in the country.
More than one year after Taiwan was battered by SARS, the country is better equipped and prepared for any war against the epidemic disease in the future, Lai said.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
Police today said they are stepping up patrols throughout the Taipei MRT system, after a social media user threatened to detonate a bomb at an unspecified station this afternoon. Although they strongly believe the threat to be unsubstantiated, Taipei Metro police and the Railway Police Bureau still said that security and patrols would be heightened through the system. Many copycat messages have been posted since Friday’s stabbing attacks at Taipei Main Station and near Zhongshan MRT Station that left three dead and 11 injured, police said. Last night, a Threads user in a post said they would detonate a bomb on the Taipei
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