The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday confirmed the ninth indigenous case of dengue fever in Tainan, saying it suspects that the virus might have spread farther, as the latest case involves a person who had not been to areas linked to previous cases.
An 89-year-old man living in the mountainous Ronghe Borough (榮和) of Zuojhen District (左鎮) developed a fever on Wednesday, the centers said.
On Friday, he was taken to a hospital for a scooter-related injury and tested positive in a rapid dengue fever screening before being confirmed to have contracted the disease, the centers said.
Photo provided by the Tainan Public Health Bureau
The man usually stays at home and tends his vegetable garden and he had not traveled abroad or visited areas linked to the eight previous indigenous cases, the CDC said, adding that he visited Shanhua District (善化) on Sunday last week.
Disease prevention personnel would disinfect the man’s home and garden, the centers said, adding that it is investigating where he might have contracted the disease and whether the virus is the same strain as the previous cases.
CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said a possible source of infection could be someone visiting Zuojhen before the onset of symptoms, or there could be local residents who contracted the disease abroad, but did not show symptoms.
A total of 48 indigenous dengue fever cases had been reported nationwide as of yesterday — 39 in Kaohsiung and nine in Tainan — and there were 209 imported cases, marking the highest number for the period in 10 years, the CDC said.
As heavy rain or showers have been forecast for most of southern Taiwan this week, the centers urged people to remove standing water in containers or drenches in their living environments following rain to eliminate breeding grounds for mosquitoes, and immediately seek medical help if symptoms of fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, rashes, or muscle and joint pain occur.
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease.
Symptoms typically begin three to 14 days after infection.
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