The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday reported the first mass infection of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, after seven staff members at Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital came down with symptoms of the disease.
An intern at the hospital was also thought to have contracted the disease.
"The seven hospital staff who came down with the disease include a doctor, two nurses, two laundry workers, an administrator and an X-ray technician," said Lee Lung-teng (李龍騰), deputy director-general of the DOH.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Two patients at the hospital are also suspected of having contracted the disease.
Yesterday evening, Yang Ker-ping (
She said the school would be closed for 10 days.
The DOH said a task force had been formed to trace the origin of the infection, which was discovered at around midnight on Tuesday.
Lee, however, said that the mass infection at the hospital was different from community spread of SARS. The DOH has imposed quarantine measures on the staff and their relatives, Lee said.
The DOH is investigating whether a 37-year-old male patient in the hospital could be the index patient in the latest infections.
"The patient was first diagnosed with cellulitis and later developed pneumonia. However, his contact history and travel history show no links to SARS cases," Lee said.
The patient has been transferred to National Taiwan University Hospital. Lee said the patient's long-term drug addiction had led to the weakening of his immune system.
"Therefore, his coughing and fever symptoms were not very obvious," he said.
Lee said the doctor tending to him was infected perhaps because it was difficult to detect the patient's SARS-like symptoms among his other ailments.
The other patient thought to have been infected with SARS at the hospital was an 82-year-old man.
"He was admitted to the same ward as the first patient. But when he was sent to the hospital, he did not have pneumonia," he said.
Lee said six out of the nine cases at the hospital had been listed as probable SARS cases.
After these cases were reported, the DOH and Taipei City's Health Bureau formed a joint team consisting of clinical experts, epidemiologists and health officials to investigate the mass infection.
Wu Kang-wen (
When asked whether the hospital's two laundry workers were infected when washing the patients' bed sheets or clothing, Wu said no clear explanation was available yet.
"We are still investigating the transmission routes of the infection," Wu said.
The DOH has imposed stringent measures to curb further spread of SARS in the hospital.
The measures include an overall disinfection of the hospital building and the suspension of the hospital's emergency services.
Chiou Shu-ti (
"The patients already staying in the hospital will not be moved. But their health conditions need to be tracked for two weeks after they are discharged," Chiou said.
"The hospital will not receive new inpatients for two weeks. Whether the period should be extended depends on whether the hospital's outbreak can be contained," she said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS