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.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
Taiwan is doing everything it can to prevent a military conflict with China, including building up asymmetric defense capabilities and fortifying public resilience, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said in a recent interview. “Everything we are doing is to prevent a conflict from happening, whether it is 2027 or before that or beyond that,” Hsiao told American podcaster Shawn Ryan of the Shawn Ryan Show. She was referring to a timeline cited by several US military and intelligence officials, who said Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to be ready to take military action against Taiwan
RSS