An unusually high incidence of cat scratch disease this year has led the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to call people’s attention to the disease, which is usually transmitted from animals to humans.
As of Thursday, there were 55 reported cases of cat scratch disease, more than double the number in both 2008 and last year, when there were 27 and 23 respectively, the CDC said in a statement.
Of the 55 people afflicted with the disease, 42 had come in contact with animals, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Lin Ting (林頂) said. About 69 percent of those 42 people had touched a cat before becoming infected.
Most of the patients resided in central and northern Taiwan, in areas such as Taipei City and Taipei County, Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Changhua counties.
Health experts were unclear why the number of patients had doubled this year.
However, Huang Chien-hsien, an attending physician at Shin Kong Wo Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, suggested that the increase could be caused by more people having cats as pets or cat owners not taking their pets to veterinarians for regular health checks, as the disease is often transmitted by a scratch from an infected cat.
Huang added that bacteria in cat feces could also be transmitted to the human body through open wounds.
To prevent the disease, Huang suggested that anybody bitten by a cat should see a doctor and anyone with an open wound should cover it with a bandage to avoid bacterial contamination.
While some of those infected have minor symptoms, such as swelling of the lymph nodes, there are also rare cases of serious complications, including inflammation of the conjunctiva, which often happens to people with weak immune systems.
According to the CDC statistics, the first contracted case of cat scratch disease in Taiwan was reported in 1998, and about 15 to 30 cases are diagnosed annually.
Incidents of the disease are more common in the fall and winter, and in children under five years old.
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