The Center for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that a second person had contracted dengue fever in a laboratory, after the first case of dengue fever in Taiwan this year had been declared the result of laboratory mismanagement.
The center said that a graduate student doing research at a university in central Taiwan was confirmed to have contracted the disease on May 13.
According to the CDC, the patient started showing symptoms of fever, headache and pain in his joints on April 22.
Because the student's research had been focused on Armigeres subalbatus, one of the most common mosquito species in Taiwan, the CDC requested in April that all lab work related to the dengue virus be discontinued and that lab safety checks be performed.
The CDC reported yesterday that the patient's latest blood tests had confirmed a genetic link to the virus he had been working with.
According to the CDC, blood tests were performed to confirm that other researchers or laboratory employees had not contracted dengue fever.
The laboratory has since been closed down pending changes to safety regulations and operating procedures, the CDC said, adding that labs conducting research on invertebrates would in the future have to abide by strict World Health Organization regulations and guidelines.
The center's revelation follows close on the heels of a string of laboratory-related SARS cases in Singapore, China and Taiwan. The infections all stemmed from contact with laboratory virus cultures, which gave rise to questions about the safety precautions at research laboratories handling infectious substances.
The CDC said that it will be establishing a lab safety committee to oversee research projects. Research proposals will have to be reported to the committee before being implemented.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
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