The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday evening confirmed the nation’s fourth imported case of H7N9 avian influenza since April last year, in a 39-year-old Taiwanese citizen returning from China.
It was the second H7N9 case confirmed this week. A 44-year-old woman visiting from China’s Jiangsu Province was found to be infected with the disease on Tuesday.
The CDC said the latest patient was a businessman who left for China on March 31 and traveled to Beijing and Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, before returning to Taiwan on Saturday last week.
The traveler developed fever and breathing problems after his return, and is undergoing treatment at a hospital, the health authority said.
The CDC said it will continue monitoring the 57 people known to have come in contact with the man, although none has shown symptoms. The people under watch include three family members, a colleague who picked him up at the airport and people at the hospital.
The nation’s first imported case of imported avian influenza was confirmed on April 24 last year. A second was discovered on Dec. 31.
The CDC said that, according to the WHO, a total of 290 H7N9 influenza infections have been confirmed around the world since the beginning of October last year, and all cases affected Chinese nationals or originated in China.
The health organization urged visitors to China to maintain good personal hygiene, avoid direct contact with poultry and other birds or their droppings, and to stay away from traditional markets where live poultry is sold.
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
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