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Taiwanese woman develops measles, confounds doctors

A 30-year-old woman who apparently developed the measles after a holiday in Japan saw doctors nine times before being correctly diagnosed.

"The disease is now so rare in Taiwan, you cannot expect doctors to be on the lookout for it," said Lin Ting (林頂), the deputy director-general of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

"However, because of the current measles outbreak in Japan and the amount of frequent travel between our country and Japan, we are asking medical professionals to be vigilant," Lin said.

Lin said the woman was from southern Taiwan.

This was the first confirmed case of measles in the country this year, the CDC said.

MOST HAVE IMMUNITY

Thanks to measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) inoculation rates of more than 95 percent for children in this country, measles has been virtually eradicated here, Lin said.

The woman was born before the universal MMR inoculation program began in 1978 and had not been immunized.

After a tour of Kobe, Osaka and Kyoto from May 16 to May 20, the woman started to experience coughing, a runny nose and a fever, among other symptoms.

MISSED DIAGNOSIS

She went to see an ear, nose and throat specialist, a Chinese medicine practitioner, an internist-pediatrician and a pediatrician a total of eight times without being diagnosed correctly -- even after she began to develop measles' characteristic reddish bumps.

She was finally referred to a medical center on June 4 where she was diagnosed.

The woman is recovering well despite the fact that adults are usually hit harder by the disease and its complications, Lin said.

"We expect this to be an isolated case," Lin said. "It will be hard for the disease to spread because most people here have immunity."

Travelers to Japan with very young infants might want to get vaccinations or rethink their travel plans, Lin said.
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