Citing a US study, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that this year’s El Nino could lead to an epidemic of dengue fever cases in Southeast Asia.
The international research team, involving scientists from 18 institutions around the world and the ministries of health in each of the study countries, was led by University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health associate professor Willem van Panhuis.
The team analyzed 18 years of monthly dengue surveillance reports that had been compiled from 3.5 million cases of the disease in 273 provinces in eight countries — including Taiwan.
The team found that the exceptionally high occurrence of dengue fever in 1997 and 1998 coincided with high temperatures brought about by a strong El Nino effect allowing mosquitoes to reproduce faster and spread dengue virus more efficiently.
This phenomenon occurs about once every five years, with one of the most significant episodes expected in the coming months, the study said.
CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said that El Nino typically occurs every two to five years, and the Central Weather Bureau forecast the El Nino taking place from this summer through spring next year to be the most powerful in 18 years.
Affected by high temperatures brought by El Nino, the number of confirmed cases in some Southeast Asian countries is double or triple the number recorded last year, Chuang said.
“We hope to continue participating in research with these countries and establish a prediction model that will enable us to formulate prevention strategies,” he said.
As of Monday, a total of 20,972 indigenous dengue fever cases were reported nationwide, with 17,819 in Tainan and 2,806 in Kaohsiung. Seven deaths thought to be attributed to dengue fever were reported on Monday, and a total of 59 people are in intensive care units nationwide, CDC data showed.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to