As of Monday, 18 new cases of mpox had been reported this month, topping the highest monthly number in two years, with local cases having been reported weekly for seven consecutive weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Tuesday.
CDC data showed that 52 mpox cases had been reported so far this year as of Monday, comprising 41 locally acquired cases and 11 imported.
CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said 18 cases were reported in the first 19 days of this month alone, including 16 with the Clade 1b mpox virus, a variant first identified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in September 2023.
Photo: Lo Pi, Taipei Times
Contact tracing showed that the 16 cases were aged between 20 and 50, with all of them having had unsafe sex and only two having received an mpox vaccine, Guo said.
Thirty people have tested positive for Clade 1b mpox so far this year, with 22 local cases and eight imported — six from Thailand and two from Hong Kong, he said.
The risk of cross-border Clade 1b mpox viral transmission is increasing, with 68 countries and areas having reported confirmed cases, while mpox cases have been rising in parts of the WHO’s Western Pacific Region, Guo said.
A WHO assessment report published in August showed that overall global public health risk is “moderate” for “individuals with multiple sexual partners,” and “low” for all other individuals, he said.
CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesman Lin Min-cheng (林明誠) said that local mpox cases have been reported weekly for seven consecutive weeks.
The 52 local mpox cases reported so far this year is about 20 percent higher than the same period last year, Lin said.
“We continue to urge people who are eligible for [mpox] vaccination to get fully vaccinated with two doses for full protection,” he said.
Vaccination is the most effective method of preventing mpox infection, the CDC said, adding that getting the full two-dose regimen provides about 90 percent protection, while one dose provides about 40 to 80 percent.
There are 327 healthcare facilities across Taiwan that provide publicly funded mpox vaccinations, so people who have engaged in high-risk sexual behavior, such as having multiple sexual partners, engaged in sex work or had sex at commercial venues should get vaccinated, it said.
Typhoon Champi is forecast to turn northward earlier than previously expected, sparing Taiwan a direct hit but still bringing heavy rain to the north of the country on Friday and Saturday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Typhoon Champi had strengthened and increased in size over the past 12 hours, and as of yesterday afternoon, was packing sustained winds of 198kph near its center, CWA forecaster Cheng Chieh-jen (鄭傑仁) said. However, due to the weakening of a Pacific high-pressure system the storm is now expected to turn northward earlier than initially forecast, likely around Japan’s Ishigaki Island, Cheng said. As Champi brushes
A sea warning for Typhoon Champi might be issued tonight, while the storm’s trajectory would determine whether a land warning is to be issued tomorrow night, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Champi was about 1,536km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), packing maximum sustained winds of 198kph, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said. The storm was moving west-northwest at 23kph and was expected to strengthen over the next 24 hours before weakening slightly as it approaches cooler waters east of Taiwan, Tseng said. Champi is expected to turn north tomorrow, with the angle of the
DEFENSE PROCUREMENT: Taiwan could become the largest operator of V-BAT drones outside the US if the contract is finalized, the Ministry of National Defense said The navy and the coast guard reportedly plan to acquire 292 units of MQ-35A V-BAT vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) surveillance drones. If the contract is awarded and finalized, it would make Taiwan one of the largest buyers of the uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by the US-based defense technology company Shield AI. The Coast Guard Administration budgeted NT$1.2 billion (US$37.1 million) to buy 12 drones, which have been delivered, Shield AI said in a report on Oct 13. The navy is planning to spend NT$36 billion under a four-year program code-named Project Yuan Hsiao (遠鴞) to acquire 280 V-BAT drones,
Stable weather in northern Taiwan is expected to give way to rain this evening, while other parts of the country are to remain cloudy to sunny, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Northern and northeastern Taiwan could see intermittent rain this afternoon as seasonal northeasterly winds strengthen, with heavy rain possible in the greater Taipei area and Yilan County into the evening, CWA forecaster Chu Mei-lin (朱美霖) said. Despite the approaching rain, daytime highs across Taiwan are to remain above 30°C, reaching 34°C in central and southern Taiwan, the CWA said. Starting tomorrow, seasonal northeasterly winds and the outer currents of Typhoon
RSS