Two cases of malaria were confirmed last week in university students who had been on a social service program in Uganda last month, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
The two women, students at a university in northern Taiwan, had gone on the service program with 10 other students and teachers between Sept. 10 and Sept. 23, Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said.
The pair experienced fever, shaking chills, nausea, vomiting and muscle pain, one on Thursday last week and the other two days later, and sought medical attention, he said.
They were diagnosed with malaria and their cases reported to the agency, he said.
The pair visited a travel clinic and been prescribed malaria prophylaxis before their trip, but one o took the drug for just two days and the other did not completly follow the instructions, CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said.
Another team member also contracted malaria while in Uganda and was treated before returning home, while one more who has had headaches since returning home is being assisted by their local health department, Chuang said.
There have been five confirmed malaria cases in the nation this year, but all were contracted abroad, including in India, Kenya and the Solomon Islands.
Malaria is a vector-borne disease, carried by female Anopheles mosquitoes, and the incubation period can be from seven to 30 days, said Lin Yung-ching (林詠青), a CDC doctor.
The initial symptoms are similar to those of influenza, Lin said.
If malaria is not treated promptly, a patient can develop serious jaundice, or experience seizures, kidney failure, pulmonary edema, brain damage or become comatose, he added.
The CDC urges people planning to travel to areas where malaria is present to consult a travel clinic at least a month prior to their departure, he said.
If a malaria prophylaxis is prescribed, travelers should follow the instructions exactly, he said.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese