The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed this year's first case of immigrant congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) in a two-month-old baby in northern Taiwan, whose mother is a new immigrant from China.
Congenital rubella syndrome can occur in the developing fetus of a woman who has contracted rubella, commonly known as German measles, during her first trimester. It can result in a wide range of illnesses in infants, including malformation of the brain and damage to major organs.
Taiwan has administered the MMR vaccine for immunization against measles, mumps and rubella since 1976 and has not seen any indigenous congenital rubella syndrome cases in recent years.
CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ting (林頂) said on Tuesday the baby had congenital cerebral defects, heart disease and cataracts as a result of the virus. The baby was born in January and the case was reported on March 17, he said.
Lin said that the mother recalled being diagnosed with measles, rather than rubella, by her doctor in China in the fifth week of her pregnancy, a week before she discovered she was pregnant.
The mother immigrated to Taiwan in August, during the 19th week of her pregnancy. She had her first pregnancy check-up in Taiwan the day after her arrival and was found to have the rubella antibody in her system, Lin said.
Rubella is generally a mild disease and usually passes unnoticed. However, it can be very dangerous for a baby if the mother is infected in the early stages of pregnancy, as there is a 90 percent chance the disease will be passed on to the fetus, Lin said.
There is a 25 percent chance of miscarriage or stillbirth for infected fetuses, as well as serious problems for those that are born alive, such as congenital heart disease, hearing problems, glaucoma, cataracts, microcephalia -- small-sized head -- or mental disability.
Since 2002 the Department of Health has required that foreign spouses submit documents proving they have been vaccinated or have the rubella antibody, but there is still a "blind spot" in management of the situation, Lin said. He called on women to confirm their vaccine records before getting pregnant.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS