A Kaohsiung urologist has warned people to be wary of personal hygiene when using public facilities, as it is possible to contract human papillomavirus (HPV) through casual contact and not just through sexual intercourse.
Cheng Pin-jui (鄭斌睿) of the Cisian Gaomei Urology Clinic said he treated a 30-year-old man who complained of a constant itch in his anus.
The man said he thought he had felt some protrusions and that he was afraid of having contracted genital warts.
The clinic’s diagnosis confirmed the patient’s suspicion.
The patient told Cheng that he was “100 percent heterosexual,” and that he and his girlfriend did not use any anal sex toys.
Cheng said the patient, who works as a chef, often frequents public toilets.
Due to long working hours, he could have been infected with genital warts while scratching an itch, Cheng said.
Pieces of skin carrying HPV could have been left on the toilet seat, which would have transmitted the virus upon contact, Cheng said.
While contraction of genital warts happens most commonly during sexual intercourse, indirect contraction of the virus is possible if one comes into contact with the virus on clothing, towels and in public toilets.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
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More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
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