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Be wary of bird flu: CDC
PANDEMIC POSSIBLE:
Holiday travellers were warned by the CDC to be cautious if they are headed to China or Southeast Asia, as bird flu is still at threat in some regions
By Wang Hsiao-wen
STAFF REPORTER
Monday, Jan 31, 2005, Page 2
In face of growing travel between Taiwan, China and Southeast Asia for the Lunar New Year holiday, the Center for Disease Control began distributing safety tips to people at CKS International Airport and Kaohsiung's Hsiaokang International Airport to help prevent diseases from entering the country.
The center on Saturday began providing charter flight passengers and travelers from Southeast Asia with information about infectious diseases.
"Beyond the usual temperature screening tests, we will also give out pamphlets to travelers about the latest [disease] situation in China and Southeast Asia," the center's Deputy Director Shih Wen-yi (¬I¤å»ö) said yesterday.
According to the center, Vietnam is still affected by bird flu, as a 13-year-old girl's death brought the death toll there to 11 in recent weeks. Also, a 25-year-old woman in Cambodia is suspected of contracting the potentially fatal flu virus, after she crossed the border into Vietnam to go to the hospital.
"We are still waiting for the health authority there to confirm the case. If confirmed, [the woman] would be the first person from Cambodia to be infected by the H5N1 virus this year. If Taiwanese travelers are going to these countries or neighboring Laos or Myanmar, they are advised to keep their distance from poultry farms and wash their hands frequently," Shih said.
The center also said they are keeping an eye on the bird flu epidemic. Once the WHO detects human-to-human transmission, the center will elevate its disease prevention mechanism and reinforce health checkups for travelers returning from countries plagued by the influenza.
Aside from the much-feared bird flu epidemic, center officials also noted that China and Southeast Asia are still ravaged by other contagious diseases such as dengue fever, cholera, typhoid fever, and shigellosis.
As many Taiwanese business-people in China will be flying to and from China this time of the year, health officials said that these holidaymakers should mind their personal health.
"Although China did not report an outbreak of infectious diseases so far [this year], visitors to China should not lower their guard," said Lin Wen-fei (ªL¤å´´), the chief of the center's division of quarantine and intervention activities.
"We don't believe SARS is completely wiped out in China. Also, China reported an outbreak of bird flu in 2003. Although there is no cases of bird flu in there this year, it is believed that some places in China remain unprepared for a possible outbreak," Lin said.
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