A week after 24 students from the Military Academy in Kaohsiung County Fong Sheng City began suffering from a persistent fever, together with the sudden death of the student Yen Ming-cheng (顏銘政), the Department of Health's Center for Disease Control (CDC) is still struggling to identify the unknown disease.
The CDC is analyzing 24 nasopharyngeal swaps and blood tests in cooperation with the Medical Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense.
"Our initial finding from the specimens suggests that the student died of bacteremia induced by pseudomonas infection. Nonetheless, we cannot locate the source of infection until further tests in the lab yield more results," the CDC's deputy director-general, Shih Wen-yi (
However, an autopsy of Yen's body to find the cause of death was canceled yesterday, as the family refused to grant the CDC its consent. Doctors said that an autopsy would now be very difficult, as Yen's body had remained in its coffin at home for 5 days in the hot and humid air.
The CDC said that the poorly preserved body would be unfit for an autopsy.
According to another CDC deputy director-general, Lin Ting (
"We cannot tell when we can be sure of the cause of group infection, since all kinds of tests are just under way," Lin said yesterday.
The latest report said that 5 out of the 24 patients still remain hospitalized and quarantined. According to Shih, the military school students experienced fever, cough, blocked sinuses and headaches, and are on the mend, despite the cause of the illness being unknown.
"Unlike Yen, these students displaying respiratory syndromes are not infected with pseudomonas. That's what we know so far," the CDC's former director-general, Su Ih-jen (蘇益仁), explained.
The rapid and potentially fatal infection has baffled health professionals. Since last weekend, the local hospital has successively identified several possible causes of the student's death and reported them to Kaohsiung County's Health Bureau. The possible causes include typhus, SARS, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, meningococcal meningitis, pneumonia and Legionnaires' disease, among others.
Despite the lack of a positive identification of the illness, officials were scrambling to reassure the public that everything was under control.
"Although we cannot pinpoint the cause of death, our doctors can ensure that this is not another SARS epidemic," said Yu Ming-long (
"So far, we can exclude the possibility of SARS, flu, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis and meningitis. The probability of a communicable disease is very low," Chiu Chan-hsien (
The military academy and the CDC said they are keeping a close watch on the 66 students suspected exposure to the unidentified disease.
ECONOMIC RESILIENCE: Only 11.4 percent of Taiwan’s overseas investments last year were in China, and businesses are dispersing their investments elsewhere, Lai said China’s ambition to annex Taiwan is based on a desire to change the rules-based international order, rather than a desire for territorial gains, President William Lai (賴清德) said in an interview. During an appearance on the talk show The View With Catherine Chang, aired last night, Lai said China aimed to achieve hegemony, and that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait was an issue of worldwide concern. During the interview, Lai also discussed his “four-pillar plan” for peace and prosperity, which he first outlined in an article published by the Wall Street Journal on July 4 last year. That
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
Thirty Taiwanese firms, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), yesterday launched a silicon photonics industry alliance, aiming to accelerate the medium’s development and address the energy efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) devices like data centers. As the world is ushering in a new AI era with tremendous demand for computing power and algorithms, energy consumption is emerging as a critical issue, TSMC vice president of integrated interconnect and packaging business C.K. Hsu (徐國晉) told a media briefing in Taipei. To solve this issue, it is essential to introduce silicon photonics and copackaged optics (CPO)
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed
RSS