The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported a new measles case in northern Taiwan and warned that chicken pox is most common during winter and spring, saying that young children should receive vaccinations and maintain good hand hygiene and cough etiquette.
The new confirmed measles case is a woman in her 30s living in New Taipei City who has taken public buses and visited clinics and hospitals during the communicability period, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Liu Ting-ping (劉定萍) said.
The agency’s preliminary estimate is that about 480 people had direct contact with the woman and would be monitored for symptoms until Friday next week, she said.
The woman visited Thailand from Nov. 7 to Nov. 16; began experiencing the symptoms of fever, throat pain, rashes and shortness of breath on Nov. 21; and first sought treatment at a clinic on Nov. 22, CDC physician Huang Wan-ting (黃婉婷) said.
She was diagnosed with a cold on her first and second visits to a clinic for treatment, Huang said, adding that she on Monday last week sought treatment at a hospital, where doctors initially suspected that she had a urinary tract infection.
However, test results on Saturday confirmed that the woman had contracted measles, Huang said, adding that she remained hospitalized.
The woman had taken public bus route No. 644 and the Zhongxiao (忠孝) Taipei Metro Bus line on Nov. 18 and the Green 8 route in New Taipei City on Nov. 19 and Nov. 20, the CDC said.
People who took buses on those routes on those days who experience measles symptoms — fever, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, coughing and rashes — should wear a surgical mask and seek medical attention immediately, it said.
As the woman has asthma, the shortness of breath she experienced along with the onset of other symptoms, which are common indicators of a measles infection, might have led doctors to misdiagnose her, because the disease has not been spreading in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said.
Measles is at its peak in Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, so people who plan to visit the region should consult a doctor about receiving a vaccination in advance and inform doctors about their travel if they develop a fever or rashes after returning to Taiwan, he said.
Separately, 861 hospital visits for chicken pox were reported last week, more than the previous two weeks, and 16 cluster cases have been reported in the past four weeks, mostly on school campuses, Liu said.
Chicken pox is a highly contagious viral disease that can spread from person to person by direct contact and inhalation of airborne droplets of saliva, and it is contagious from five days before a rash appears until all blisters have dried and crusted, Huang said.
Children younger than one, pregnant women and people with immunodeficiency disorders have a higher risk of contracting chicken pox, Lo said, adding that the best prevention is to get the varicella vaccine.
A government-funded first dose should be administered to infants at 12 months of age, while children aged four to six can receive an out-of-pocket second dose before starting elementary school, he said.
In related news, the CDC said the second phase of government-funded seasonal flu vaccinations for preschool-age children and people aged at least 65 would begin on Sunday.
People who are eligible should get vaccinated at one of the nation’s 4,090 contracted healthcare facilities and local health centers as soon as possible, it said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard