A retrospective study conducted by the Council of Agriculture (COA) shows that the rabies virus has been present in Taiwan for at least three years, as five of the 13 Formosan ferret-badger samples preserved since July 2010 have recently been tested and found to be positive for rabies, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.
A total of 17 ferret-badgers preserved by the council’s Endemic Species Research Institute had been sent for testing, four of which lacked enough brain tissue to be tested.
However, five of the remaining 13 samples were tested using the fluorescent antibody test and reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction for a retrospective test, and were found to contain rabies antibodies and nucleic acids, the agency said.
The center said that of the 13 samples, the oldest dated back to July 17, 2010, and was collected in Nantou County’s Guosing Township (國姓).
The results have indirectly confirmed that this strain of rabies is not new to Taiwan, the center said, adding that it will report its latest findings to the World Organization for Animal Health.
Four of the five positive samples were from Nantou County and one was from Chiayi County, which are among the nine rabies-affected regions where rabies-infected ferret-badgers have been found earlier this year, director of the council’s Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Chang Su-san (張淑賢) said.
“The preserved samples collected from other counties such as Taoyuan County have tested negative for rabies. These results match our expectations,” Chang added.
Although the latest tests found that rabies has been in the country for at least three years, the surveillance of the disease in other animals such as dogs, cats and bats in the past three years has not detected cross-species transmission of the virus, the center said.
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
RSS