The condition of a Taiwanese businessman who contracted the H7N9 avian influenza virus in China has improved to the point where he has been taken off his ventilator, and may soon be moved to a normal ward, National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) said on Tuesday.
“The patient has been taken off a ventilator, is no longer testing positive for the virus and has been taken off the anti-flu drug Tamiflu,” NTUH deputy superintendent Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said.
“If all goes well, the patient can be transferred to a normal ward in the next couple of days for continued treatment and recuperation,” Chang added.
The 53-year-old man, identified only by his surname, Lee (李), has been receiving intensive treatment in a negative pressure quarantine ward since April 20 after testing positive for the H7N9 virus following his return to Taiwan on April 9.
At the most serious stage of his illness, Lee was put on a ventilator and given extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy. He was taken off the ECMO, a machine that functions as an artificial lung, on Thursday last week.
“While the patient is clearly conscious and his health is improving steadily, he nevertheless remains weak and still suffers shortness of breath,” Chang said at a media briefing, with the consent of the patient’s family.
“It is still not clear when Lee can be discharged,” he added.
The H7N9 strain of bird flu had not been found in humans until cases were reported in China in April.
Scientists in China and other countries said the virus has jumped from birds, most probably chickens, to humans.
The virus has so far infected at least 129 people in China and killed 31 of them, according to the latest data from China’s health authorities and the WHO. To date, Taiwan is the only place outside China that has reported a case of H7N9.
Chang said that a sample of the virus obtained from Lee is likely to be used for virological study to analyze its genetic makeup, clinical symptoms and effectiveness of drug treatments.
A report from the Reuters news agency on Tuesday said that the WHO and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have prepared samples of the virus to give to manufacturers for vaccine production.
New cell-culture technology developed by Novartis AG has reduced the production timeline for vaccines to a matter of weeks, although human safety trials will still require several months, the report said.
Major flu vaccine manufacturers include Sanofi SA, GlaxoSmithKline PLC, Novartis, Australia’s CSL Ltd, Baxter International Inc and AstraZeneca PLC, the report said.
The two main drugs that appear to be effective against H7N9 are Roche Holding AG’s Tamiflu and GlaxoSmithKline’s Relenza, the report added.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan would issue a decision at 8pm on whether to cancel work and school tomorrow due to forecasted heavy rain, Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said today. Hsieh told reporters that absent some pressing reason, the four northern cities would announce the decision jointly at 8pm. Keelung is expected to receive between 300mm and 490mm of rain in the period from 2pm today through 2pm tomorrow, Central Weather Administration data showed. Keelung City Government regulations stipulate that school and work can be canceled if rain totals in mountainous or low-elevation areas are forecast to exceed 350mm in
1.4nm WAFERS: While TSMC is gearing up to expand its overseas production, it would also continue to invest in Taiwan, company chairman and CEO C.C. Wei said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) has applied for permission to construct a new plant in the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區), which it would use for the production of new high-speed wafers, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council, which supervises three major science parks in Taiwan, confirmed that the Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau had received an application on Friday from TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, to commence work on the new A14 fab. A14 technology, a 1.4 nanometer (nm) process, is designed to drive artificial intelligence transformation by enabling faster computing and greater power
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
RSS