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Taiwan Quick Take: Encephalitis case confirmed

The Center for Disease Control confirmed this year's first case of Japanese encephalitis yesterday and urged travelers to the southern part of the country to avoid mosquito bites. Center Deputy Director Shih Wen-yi (施文儀) said there have been an average of around 30 cases of the disease annually during the past five years and he estimated that the number of cases this year will be similar to that of last year. Shih said that the incubation period of the illness is roughly between five and 15 days, but that it is not contagious. The mosquitoes contract the virus by biting pigs and carry it until they die. Recent tallies compiled by the center show that over half of the pigs they tested carried the virus, and the subsequent confirmation of the first encephalitis case indicates that the season has begun, Shih said. The patient lives in Tainan County.

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