A seven-year-old boy who developed flu symptoms after a recent visit to Japan has been quarantined at National Taiwan University Hospital for observation, a Taipei City health official said yesterday.
The boy was first taken to the Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital’s Taipei Branch on Sunday after developing a high fever, runny nose and cough, said Chiu Wen-hsiang (邱文祥), director of the city’s Department of Health.
Later that day he was referred to National Taiwan University Hospital for quarantine amid concerns that he could have contracted swine flu, or the A(H1N1) virus, during a visit to Japan last week.
Meanwhile, a young Japanese woman from Osaka was quarantined at Taoyuan General Hospital yesterday after she was found to have a high fever upon arrival at Taoyuan International Airport.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) personnel examined the woman, who had a fever of more than 38°C, and then took her to the hospital for quarantine and observation.
Officials said the Central Epidemic Command Center had been alerted about both cases and preventive measures would be taken immediately if the tests confirmed the boy or the woman had the A(H1N1) flu strain.
To date, there have been no cases of swine flu in Taiwan.
Meanwhile, 19 Taiwan-bound passengers who arrived in Hong Kong on Saturday aboard a Cathay Pacific-American Airlines codeshare flight (CX 831/AA 6091) have been urged to contact heath officials after Hong Kong authorities confirmed on Sunday that another passenger on the flight had swine flu.
Hong Kong officials said a 23-year-old Chinese university student from Guangdong on the flight, which left New York on Friday, was intercepted at the airport after thermal testing showed he had a fever. He was taken from the airport to a hospital and initial tests were positive for the H1N1 flu strain.
Thomas Tsang (曾浩輝), controller at Hong Kong’s Center for Health Protection, told reporters on Sunday that the student sat in the 60th row of the plane and travelers sitting in the 57th to 63rd rows on the same flight should contact health officials.
“The 19 [Taiwan-bound] passengers should call health authorities at 1922 as soon as possible because there is a possibility that they could have been exposed to the A(H1N1) influenza virus,” said Shih Wen-yi (施文儀), spokesman for the Central Epidemic Command Center.
Twenty-four passengers and seven crew members from the flight have been quarantined in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Undersecretary for Food and Health Gabriel Leung (梁卓偉) told reporters yesterday.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all