As of Monday, 69 locally acquired cases and 99 imported cases of dengue fever had been reported this year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said, advising the public to take proper measures to reduce the risk of a potential outbreak.
Five locally acquired cases of dengue fever were reported in Pingtung County last week, taking the total number of locally acquired cases to 53 this year in Pingtung alone, CDC official Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said, adding that in the same week 10 imported cases from Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines were reported.
The agency also announced that five more cases of Japanese encephalitis (JE) have been confirmed, with all the infected patients experiencing the onset of the disease between June 10 and June 30.
“Four were hospitalized, one of whom is currently in intensive care, and one has since been discharged,” Chuang said.
As of yesterday, a total of nine confirmed cases of JE had been reported this year, according to the agency.
“However, compared with the number cases recorded in the same period last year, which was 26, this year’s nine is not that many,” Chuang said.
CDC physician Philip Yi-chun Lo (羅一鈞) said that pigs are the main host of the JE virus in Taiwan, so people who live near hog farms should take heed of the sanitary condition of their surroundings.
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
REPORT: Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining loitering munitions matching the AeroVironment Switchblade 300 or the Anduril Altius-600, ‘Foreign Policy’ said Taiwan is seeking US-made kamikaze drones in an apparent concession to pressure from Washington to focus on asymmetric capabilities to defeat or deter a Chinese attack, Foreign Policy said in a report on Wednesday. Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munitions or other devices with similar capabilities, it said, citing four sources familiar with the matter commenting on condition of anonymity. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed for attacking ground troops, while its larger sibling, the Switchblade 600, could be used to destroy tanks and entrenched troops. Ukraine has utilized both systems extensively in its fight against
Police officers yesterday morning apprehended the prime suspect of a triple homicide case, after raiding the suspect’s hideout in Taichung. They transported the suspect to New Taipei City for questioning and recorded his statement last night. The suspect, identified as a 24-year-old man surnamed Chang (張), is believed to have used his hands to strangle his wife, surnamed Chen (陳), 29, along with his three-year-old son from a previous marriage and his wife’s mother, 69. The three dead bodies were wrapped in blankets when they were discovered inside their apartment in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) on Saturday. Chang was holding a
STRIKING A BALANCE: A nutritionist said that only 9 percent of respondents were concerned whether they had a sufficient balance of vegetables and fruits Nearly 60 percent of respondents said that they are affected physically and mentally due to lack of a regular breakfast routine, while only 9 percent ate a balanced diet, a Formosa Cancer Foundation survey showed. Thirty percent of respondents do not eat breakfast at home, saying it is more expedient to buy it, said Hsu Kuei-ting (徐桂婷), the foundation’s nutritionist, citing its most recent poll on nutritional intake for people aged 20 to 60. The poll showed that 60 percent believe they do not eat breakfasts that have balanced nutrition. At 62 percent, convenience was the most commonly cited factor in deciding whether