The feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) cannot be transmitted to humans, a veterinarian said on the eve of World AIDS Day on Sunday.
FIV bears similarities to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and causes an AIDS-like syndrome in cats.
Cats infected with FIV might show symptoms such as weight loss, loss of appetite, rough fur texture, diarrhea, anemia, and inflammation around the mouth and gums, said Hsieh Yu-ta (謝侑達), a veterinarian at a government-run animal treatment and rescue center in New Taipei City.
However, some felines might not display any symptoms at all, Hsieh said, adding that FIV cannot be transmitted to humans, just as HIV cannot be transmitted to cats.
There is no treatment for FIV, and the most effective method for prevention is not allowing house cats to come in contact with strays, he said.
Cat owners should not worry too much if their cats are infected with FIV, as the virus is not as deadly to cats as HIV is to humans, with most infected cats living normal and healthy lives, said another veterinarian at the Bali Animal Shelter in New Taipei City.
However, to prevent the virus spreading, infected cats should not be let outside, he said, adding that neutering a cat can lower its desire to roam.
Meat should be thoroughly cooked before being fed to an infected cat to kill parasites, which, if ingested, might cause health complications, he said.
New Taipei City Department of Agriculture Director-General Lee Wen (李玟) said he wanted to raise awareness of FIV on World AIDS Day as part of the department’s efforts to curb the spread of the feline disease.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
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