Doctors urged people to take necessary vaccines and to observe all notes and suggestions regarding travel and attire in jungles, adding that people should visit medical facilities if they find wounds or bug bites after returning from abroad.
Mackay Memorial Hospital Department of Oral Medicine Doctor Liu Chung-chi (劉崇基) yesterday said his department recently received a patient, a 33-year-old man surnamed Chen (陳), who complained about worsening pain in his lips.
Chen said that he had visited Machu Picchu in Peru and stayed at a local hostel in the jungle region in October last year.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
Discovering a small wound on his lips in November last year, he said he visited a dermatology clinic after the wound had failed to heal after two weeks.
Chen exhibited a minor condition of papules near the wound, which resembled an insect bite, which was initially diagnosed as herpes, Liu said.
However, upon further assesment, it was evident that three wounds had failed to heal and showed signs of “movement” within, resulting in a changed diagnosis of being infested with a form of larvae, he said.
Liu said he tried to remove the larvae without anesthetics, but Chen could not bear the pain.
Liu said he then arranged for Chen to undergo general anesthesia and removed the larvae after 15 minutes of surgery.
The larvae were sent to the lab and National Taiwan University Department of Entomology Professor Hsia Hsu-feng (蕭旭鋒) confirmed that it was the larvae of the Gasterophilus intestinalis, also known as horse botfly.
Liu said the country has only seen two previous cases of horse botfly larvae infestation, both of which were on the scalp, adding that this was both the first recorded incident of larval lip infestation in the country and the first encounter of it in his career.
The larvae had hatched from eggs because Chen’s previous visits to clinics had misdiagnosed the symptoms, Liu said.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
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