The Ministry of Health and Welfare yesterday confirmed that one of the injured people in Friday’s random stabbing incident in Taipei is HIV positive, urging people who were wounded during the incident or who had contact with blood to call the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) hotline.
Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) told an impromptu news conference at the CDC that four people, including the assailant, died in the attack, and 11 people sustained injuries, with six in the hospital.
“We found out that one of the injured is HIV positive,” he said.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
The ministry immediately consulted with specialists on the potential infection risks, he said, adding that they are recommending follow-up measures.
The HIV-positive person has been taking oral medication regularly to control the virus, so the viral load and risk of infecting others are low, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞).
“However, the possibility of other people’s open wounds or mucous membranes having been exposed to the [HIV-positive] person’s blood through the perpetrator’s weapon cannot be ruled out,” he said.
As administering pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to these people can almost eliminate their HIV infection risk, the CDC has initiated a special program to assist them, Lo said.
People who were wounded or came in contact with other people’s blood should call the CDC’s “1922” hotline, he said.
The hotline would refer them to an infectious disease specialist to help them evaluate whether they need PrEP, he said.
If needed, they should go to a hospital and get PrEP administered within the “golden hours” — 72 hours following exposure — to reduce their infection risk, he added.
Citing a similar situation in Berlin in 2006, Lo said there was an HIV-positive person among 33 people who were wounded in a serial knife stabbing, so 31 people received PrEP after the incident, and none were infected.
“The risk of HIV infection from blood exposure is generally low, estimated to be lower than 0.01 percent, and as viral loads of the person [in Friday’s incident] have been at undetectable levels, we believe the transmission risk is extremely low,” he said.
Aside from PrEP, the injured people would also be tested for HIV in the following weeks, with the last test at 12 weeks after exposure, he added.
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