Taipei City's Bureau of Health yesterday cautioned city residents to be alert for possible dengue fever infections, citing the outbreak of the disease in southern Taiwan.
"We are keeping a close eye on it to avoid a possible breakout of dengue fever in the city," said Chang Chao-ching (
"We are concerned about the proximity of dengue fever as people increase the frequency of their travel between southern and northern Taiwan during the summer vacation."
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) announced last Monday that this year's outbreak of dengue fever is more serious than previous years, with an average of 10 confirmed cases a day being reported in the south.
CDC Deputy Director-General Chiang Ying-lung (
Chang added that nine confirmed cases have been reported in Taipei City, "though all these victims contracted dengue while traveling abroad." The nine people had traveled to Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand.
"In light of what's happening now in southern Taiwan, we would like to strongly caution Taipei City residents to be concerned[about dengue]."
Dengue fever, a viral infection common in tropical and subtropical regions, is spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitos that bite during the daytime.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
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COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai
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