Statistics released by the Centers for Diseases Control (CDC) yesterday showed that 204 people have died from dengue fever since May, while 27 people have died from severe complications arising from influenza since July.
The Central Epidemic Command Center said that of the 204 dengue fever deaths, 112 were in Tainan, 90 in Kaohsiung and two in Pingtung County.
CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center division chief Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that of the reported deaths, 106 were men and 98 were women, the median age was 75.5, and those who died were suffering from an average of two or three chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, coronary artery disease or chronic kidney disease.
The average time period between the onset of symptoms and death was 6 days, 6 hours, Guo added.
The number of new dengue fever cases reported in Kaohsiung on Monday was 128, with the number of cases reported last week showing a 40 percent reduction compared with the week before, a sign that the outbreak is slowing down, the CDC said.
CDC Deputy Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) said that 337 dengue fever cases were brought in from other nations — mainly from Southeast Asia — so people who plan to visit such nations should take preventive measures.
The CDC also said that three new severe influenza cases were reported last week, including one death, adding to a total of 156 such cases, including 27 deaths, since July.
Reported cases of influenza are estimated to grow as the weather gets colder, Chou said, adding that previous records showed that the peak season is usually around the time of the Lunar New Year.
With remaining numbers of government-funded influenza vaccinations standing at 121,112 for adults and 14,207 for children, Chou urged people who qualify to get vaccinated and people who have suspected symptoms to seek medical treatment as soon as possible.
CDC physician Wu Hsiu (吳岫) said influenza symptoms differ from common colds in that patients might develop significant or persistent fevers, a cough that brings up blood or thick, yellow mucus, shortness of breath, or chest pain.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods