The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has developed a test kit that can diagnose whether someone is infected with swine flu within six hours, an official said yesterday.
CDC Deputy Director-General Shih Wen-yi (施文儀) demonstrated how the kit works and the procedure for the diagnostic test at the CDC-run Kunyang laboratory in Taipei.
Shih said that the Department of Health (DOH) acquired the key DNA sequence of the new virus strain on April 25 from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and two days later obtained the RNA of the virus from the Miaoli-based Animal Technology Institute of Taiwan.
Using this information, the DOH was able to develop and produce the quick-test kit, which will be distributed for use by the government and some laboratories, Shih said.
Taiwan’s quarantine authorities began to make on-board checks of passengers on flights arriving from Canada and the US on Wednesday in an effort to stop the disease, which has spread to 11 countries since it emerged in Mexico last month, from spreading to Taiwan.
Three categories are used to describe the status of potential infection: under investigation, probable case and confirmed case, and the test kit will be used in the first stage of diagnosis, Shih said.
If someone tests positive using the kit, a laboratory will then conduct virus isolation and virus antibody testing to obtain a more accurate diagnosis, he said.
As of yesterday, 12 out of 18 cases of people suspected to be infected with swine flu had tested negative for the virus.
Final results for the remaining six people, who recently arrived from North America, were not yet available.
Shih said that the CDC would stage an exercise at Taipei Songshan Airport today to simulate how an individual suspected of swine flu would be escorted from the airport to the Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital.
“We need to demonstrate to the public how a suspect swine case will be taken care of,” he said.
Shih said the tests would be carried out at Songshan instead of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport because the public and the media have questioned safety measures at the airport, which sees the second-largest amount of arrivals from China.
Meanwhile, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) inspected the CDC’s storehouse for disease prevention equipment yesterday afternoon.
The CDC has a store of masks that could be distributed to the public if necessary, he said.
“Masks and other disease prevention equipment can be distributed to anywhere in Taiwan proper within 24 hours, and to outlying islands within 48 hours. There is no need for people to buy them in a panic,” Liu said.
Liu said the government would enforce the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Act (傳染病防治法) to prevent the hoarding of masks.
Under Article 61 of the act, hoarding medical equipment is punishable by one to seven years in prison and up to NT$5 million (US$150,000) in fines.
Taiwan High Court Prosecutors’ Office Chief Yen Da-ho (顏大和) said that prosecutors have been asked to investigate whether any businesses were trying to illegally profit by raising the price of related medical items.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN
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