Physical intimacy between young people is the main way people contract hepatitis A in Taiwan and most young people do not have immunity against the disease, the Taiwan Children’s Liver Foundation said.
Five hundred and twenty-nine cases of acute hepatitis A infection have been reported this year, already surpassing the 171 cases last year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said, adding that it is a dramatic increase compared with the total numbers of reported cases in the past few years.
As of Sunday, the CDC’s data showed 141 hepatitis A cases have been reported in Taipei and 170 cases in New Taipei City this year.
Foundation chairperson Chang Mei-hwei (張美惠), who is also an Academia Sinica fellow and professor at National Taiwan University’s College of Medicine, said that about 1,600 cases of acute hepatitis A were reported between 2006 and last year, and the spike this year is worrying.
The numbers have significantly increased since January, with sometimes 30 or 40 cases reported in a week, mostly of young people living in metropolitan areas, she said.
Chang said CDC data suggest homosexual men and bisexual people have a higher rate of infection.
Hepatitis A can be transmitted through fecal-oral interaction and sexual activity, Chang said, adding that it can be prevented by maintaining good personal hygiene, including washing hands frequently, avoiding raw food and getting vaccinated.
“Clinical trials on adults and children both showed good results for hepatitis A vaccine,” she said, adding that immunity can last for about 20 years or more if a person gets vaccinated during childhood. It is recommended that children aged between 12 and 18 months are vaccinated.
The CDC urged people to practice safe sex, and to refrain from sharing hypodermic needles to prevent hepatitis A infection.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,