Three people living in the same home in northern Taiwan were confirmed to be the first clustered cases of typhoid fever this year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
A woman in her 30s, her young child and an Indonesian nurse in her 30s were confirmed to have the disease on July 2, Tuesday last week and Wednesday last week respectively, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said.
They had not visited any other countries recently, nor had they socialized with other foreign domestic workers in the area, he said.
Photo: CNA
The mother and child experienced a fever and muscle pain from June 23 to July 6, but had mistaken the symptoms for dengue fever or influenza, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said.
The nurse did not experience any symptoms, but was nevertheless confirmed to have the disease, he said, adding that the child has been hospitalized for treatment, while the local health department is still tracking the possible source of infection.
The cluster is unusual, as most people are infected with typhoid fever after eating contaminated food in other countries, Lin said.
As of Monday, 10 imported cases and four indigenous cases have been confirmed so far this year, he added.
Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection that spreads mainly through contaminated food and water, usually raw or undercooked food, or close contact with an infected person, Lin said.
Common symptoms include continuous fever, headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea and coughing, he said.
The morality rate is less than 1 percent if treated, but can reach 10 to 20 percent if left untreated, he added.
To avoid contracting the disease, Lin recommended eating foods that have been thoroughly cooked and are still hot, drinking boiled or bottled water, avoiding raw foods, and washing hands thoroughly with soap before meals and after using the toilet.
People who are planning to visit areas affected by the disease should consult a doctor about getting vaccinated in advance, Lin said.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS