The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a warning after three cases of the plague have been confirmed in China this year.
The CDC issued the warning on Saturday afternoon, saying that according to data published by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing confirmed that a married couple living in Inner Mongolia had contracted the plague.
The husband began to experience fever and had difficulty breathing beginning in late October. His wife subsequently developed similar symptoms.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
Both sought treatment at a local healthcare facility and were transferred to Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital on Nov. 3, with one of them in critical condition.
The Beijing government said it has implemented quarantine measures and identified people who had direct contact with the patients.
It urged people to avoid visiting areas where plague is spreading and to avoid rodents.
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said the plague is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium that could be transmitted from fleas to rodents and then to other animals and humans.
Early symptoms might include abnormal lymph nodes at the area where the bacteria entered, which might develop into the septicemic form of the plague, a life-threatening infection of the blood, he said.
Pneumonic plague, the most severe form of the disease, is airborne and can be spread through coughing and sneezing, the CDC said.
A total of three cases, including one death, have been confirmed in China this year, it said.
Lo said the plague is a serious disease, with a fatality rate of 30 to 60 percent if left untreated, but there have been no cases reported in Taiwan since 1953.
The CDC would continue to monitor the situation in China and would consider issuing a travel warning if the situation worsens, he said.
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
President William Lai (賴清德) is expected to announce a new advanced “all-domain” air defense system to better defend against China when he gives his keynote national day speech today, four sources familiar with the matter said. Taiwan is ramping up defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military and is adding its own advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles. Lai is expected to announce the air defense system dubbed “Taiwan Dome” in his speech this morning, one of the sources said. The system
RSS