People planning to travel domestically or abroad are advised to take precautions against insect-borne and viral diseases after several cases of scrub typhus were reported in Taiwan, while Southeast Asia, Europe and England are experiencing outbreaks of dengue fever and rubella respectively, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
The CDC said that as of Monday, there have been 147 confirmed cases of scrub typhus in Taiwan this year, one of which was fatal.
Scrub typhus is endemic to tropical and subtropical regions and is transmitted through the bite of chiggers — scrub mite larvae — carrying the Orientia tsutsugamushi parasite, the centers said.
The CDC added that while the mortality rate of the diseases is less than 5 percent if treated promptly, the probability can go up to 60 percent if the infected person fails to seek medical assistance.
According to data the CDC has collected over the years, the high-risk areas for scrub typhus in Taiwan include Kinmen, Penghu, and Hualien and Taitung counties.
People travelling to these regions are advised to apply insect repellent to all exposed skin and wear light-colored and long-sleeved clothing if they venture into dense bush.
For travelers going to Southeast Asia, the CDC warned them to be aware of the serious outbreak of mosquito-borne dengue fever currently afflicting the region. It said that the epidemic this year is so far proving to be a lot worse than those seen in the previous years.
“For example, Singapore has reported more than 10,000 dengue fever cases so far this year, which is already a lot more than the approximately 2,000 cases seen in the whole of last year,” CDC deputy director Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) said.
As of Monday, 107 imported cases of dengue fever and 71 locally acquired infections have been reported in Taiwan, 95 percent — 102 cases — of which were from Southeast Asia, the health agency said.
The CDC also urged caution for those visiting Europe as the region is experiencing a rubella outbreak exacerbated by low vaccine coverage and England is suffering the largest measles outbreak of the past decade.
The CDC advised people travelling to the region to visit a travel clinic two to four weeks before their trip to undergo a pre-travel medical evaluation and get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Those under the age of one or who have not completed the MMR vaccine regimen should avoid visiting Europe and the UK.
A total of four imported cases have been reported so far this year, three of which came from China and one from South Korea, the agency said, adding that three of the four infected patients were less than a year old.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai