The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has confirmed the nation’s first imported measles case this year, which involves a Taiwanese-American man who traveled from India to Taiwan for a family reunion last month.
The 21-year-old, who attends a university in India, flew to Taiwan on Feb. 22 on a Thai Airways flight he boarded in Bangkok, the transit stop of his journey from India to Taiwan, the agency said in a statement on Friday.
The man came down with a fever the following day and then started to notice a skin rash. It was confirmed on Thursday that he had contracted measles, the statement said.
The man is recovering, it added.
Quarantine inspectors believed the man had been infected with the measles virus in India.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) said the agency had contacted three passengers who had been sitting close to the man on the Thai Airways flight, 25 medical personnel and people he came into contact with while undergoing emergency medical treatment, as well as his family members.
None of those people had developed any symptoms of measles, Chou said.
However, because measles is more highly contagious than influenza, the center has instructed health authorities to monitor the condition of the travelers who had been sitting close to the student, Chou said.
This includes a Thai traveler, who is still in Taiwan, Chou said.
The Taiwanese-American man had also boarded an express train bound for Greater Kaohsiung at 4pm on Feb. 24 in Taipei and disembarked at a station in Yunlin County, the center found.
People who were on the same train service are advised to monitor their health and be on the alert for a possible infection.
A self-examination period of 18 days — which ends on Tuesday — is recommended, the agency said.
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