The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported this year’s first indigenous typhoid fever case in Taiwan.
The patient is a teenage girl who lives in central Taiwan, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said.
The girl developed a fever, abdominal pain and diarrhea on Feb. 2, but she was diagnosed with viral gastroenteritis when she sought medical treatment.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
The fever did not abate, and she was hospitalized on Feb. 8, before being discharged on Feb. 11, Guo said.
She sought medical treatment several times as she still experienced symptoms including a fever, coughing, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea after being discharged, he said.
As the symptoms did not abate, the girl was referred to another hospital for further examination on Tuesday last week and was diagnosed with typhoid fever, Guo said.
She is still hospitalized for treatment, he added.
The girl’s family and close contacts at her school did not show any symptoms, so the local health department is tracing food products and other contacts to find the source of infection, Guo said.
The case is considered a locally transmitted case, as the girl had not recently been to another country, he said.
CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said typhoid fever is a bacterial infection of the intestinal tract caused by Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi bacteria, which have an incubation period of about eight to 14 days, but it could also be from three to 60 days.
Typhoid fever is transmitted by consuming raw or undercooked food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, he said.
Common symptoms include persistent fever, a headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea and coughing, he added.
Typhoid fever can usually be treated with antibiotic medication in about one to two weeks, but the case fatality rate can reach 10 percent if left untreated, Lin said.
To prevent typhoid fever infection, people should frequently wash their hands with soap and water — especially before meals and after using the toilet — avoid drinking untreated water and avoid eating raw or undercooked food, Lin added.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
RSS