Three new measles infections and one case of serious complications caused by an enterovirus infection were confirmed last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
The sources of the new measles infections are still under investigation, Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said.
A total of 74 measles cases have been confirmed in Taiwan this year, including 28 people who were infected overseas, and the majority (76 percent) are aged between 20 and 39, Guo said, adding that 3,056 people are being monitored for symptoms.
Photo: CNA
Seven measles cases confirmed earlier this month were associated with three clusters of infections: one started by a person infected in Hong Kong and two clusters initiated by two people infected in Thailand, he said.
A man in his 20s was infected in Hong Kong and transmitted the disease to four people at a restaurant in New Taipei City and another four people when he sought treatment at a hospital, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said.
The measles virus can remain infectious in the air for more than an hour after an infected person leaves an area, Lo said, adding that the four people infected at the hospital did not come into direct contact with the man — some had only walked through the same hallway.
As the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination rate in Taiwan is relatively high, a person infected with measles usually only transmits the disease to three to four people at most, he said, adding that the cluster of nine cases that started in Hong Kong is the nation’s largest cluster this year so far.
A case of serious complications caused by enterovirus 71 (EV71) was confirmed last week in a five-year-old boy in Kaohsiung, CDC doctor Cheng Hao-yuan (鄭皓元) said.
The boy early this month presented with repeated high fevers, shortness of breath, headaches, rashes and trembling before being hospitalized, he said, adding that the boy was later admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit after he developed symptoms including involuntary muscle spasms, a rapid heartbeat and the inability to walk steadily.
The boy’s condition has stabilized and he has been discharged, Cheng said, adding that six cases of severe complications from enterovirus infection have been confirmed this year.
The EV71 epidemic cycle is usually two to four years, but the last large outbreak in Taiwan was in 2012, which resulted in more than 30 cases of severe complications caused by EV71 infection, so the CDC is paying extra attention to enterovirus infections this year to prevent another large outbreak, Lo said.
The CDC urged parents to watch for signs of severe complications caused by enterovirus infection and to seek immediate medical treatment if symptoms are observed.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS