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CDC issues alert against Hantavirus in Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung is on the alert for a possible outbreak of a rodent-borne disease after the first case of native Hantavirus hemorrhagic fever was reported this year.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed on Tuesday that a 26-year-old man who worked at a fish processing factory in Kaohsiung’s Cianjhen (前鎮) was diagnosed with Hantavirus hemorrhagic fever late last month after he complained of suffering from a stomach ache, fever and diarrhea.

The man has recovered and was discharged from hospital three days after he was admitted, a CDC statement said.

CDC Deputy Director General Chou Chih-hao (周志浩) said a rat had been caught on the grounds near the factory in Cianjhen where the man worked and that laboratory tests were being conducted to determine whether the rat was carrying the virus.

Hantavirus is found in the urine, saliva and droppings of infected city or field rats and some other rodents. The diseases caused by the virus, including hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, are listed in Taiwan as second-degree infectious diseases that pose a moderate public health risk.

The nation has reported 10 cases of Hantavirus since 2001, CDC data showed.

The CDC said that extermination of rats was the best way to prevent the disease since people could become ill by inhaling virus-carrying dust, being bitten by rats, or touching objects polluted by the droppings and urine of infected rodents.


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