Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) said yesterday that the WHO had amended its Web site to include a separate tally for swine flu cases reported by Taiwan.
Yeh said the DOH had stopped reporting confirmed swine flu, or A(H1N1), cases to the WHO and China because the two had been tallying Taiwanese cases under China. As of Saturday, the WHO had separated Taiwanese and Chinese cases on its Web site by placing “Chinese Taipei” cases in an appendix.
“Previously when we reported our cases to China, they would put our cases under their own tally, and we don’t want that. Now that we know the WHO won’t do that anymore, we will begin to report our cases to the WHO again,” he said.
As of press time, the amended Web site included a footnote that read, “Chinese Taipei has reported 1 confirmed case of influenza A(H1N1) with 0 deaths. Cases from Chinese Taipei are included in the cumulative totals provided in the table above.”
Yeh said that in the best-case scenario, Taiwan would like to have its own row in the online WHO A(H1N1) tally spreadsheet, instead of being listed in an appendix.
“We are not satisfied with the situation, but it is acceptable,” he said.
He also urged people to stop saying that he was selling out Taiwan, adding: “My only concern is for the epidemic in Taiwan to be controlled.”
Meanwhile, the DOH yesterday said that containment would no longer be enough to protect the nation from swine flu, adding that the government should immediately plan mitigation efforts and invest in resources to meet the surge in demand for swine flu medication and vaccines.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director Steven Kuo (郭旭崧) told a press conference yesterday that he was optimistic about controlling the spread of swine flu, saying: “This may be the first time humans can successfully prevent a global flu epidemic using vaccines.”
After a panel discussion by experts, Kuo said that as domestic cases will inevitably occur, how the swine flu epidemic will develop is unclear.
“We will work closely with the WHO and also keep a close eye on swine flu in the Southern hemisphere’s winter months of July, August and September,” Kuo said.
The development of the flu epidemic there is an important indicator for how prevention work can be done in the Northern hemisphere during its winter, he said.
Yeh said that meant Taiwan had time to wait for the A(H1N1) vaccine to be developed, as long as the nation prevents community spread of the illness until the end of next month.
In terms of domestic prevention work in the winter, Yeh said that the department had placed orders for NT$600 million (US$18.4 million) in flu medication Relenza, enough for about 600,000 doses, and 6 tonnes of shikimic acid, which can be made into about 1 million doses of Tamiflu.
Along with the 5 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine the nation plans to purchase, 10 million doses of swine flu vaccines would also be purchased, he said.
“Anyone who wants [the vaccine] should be able to get it,” Yeh said.
Of the 10 million swine flu vaccine doses, 2.5 million will be purchased from foreign pharmaceutical firms and 7.5 million will come from domestic manufacturers, Yeh said.
Besides purchasing medication for Taiwanese, the government would also donate US$5 million in A(H1N1) vaccines to needy countries via the WHO, Yeh said.
“Considering that the cost of each dose will not exceed NT$200, we will be donating at least 750,000 to 800,000 doses,” he said.
Yeh also called on domestic pharmaceutical firms to join the government in donating swine flu vaccines to these countries for humanitarian reasons.
Meanwhile, regarding President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) departure for Central and South America tomorrow, Yeh said that as Belize, Guatemala and El Salvador are entering their summer months, the A(H1N1) epidemic should pose no problem for the president.
“What we are concerned about are the two US cities, as Ma will meet overseas Taiwanese there,” Yeh said.
Ma will stop over at Los Angeles on his way over and Seattle on his way back.
Ma may not be shaking hands with the overseas Taiwanese, and those coming to the banquet may have their temperatures taken first, Yeh said, adding that these precautionary measures would be implemented in a sensitive manner.
Yeh said he would accompany Ma on the trip, but would still be in charge of domestic A(H1N1) epidemic control while he is away. Yeh said that he would engage in medical diplomacy during the trip, and that while he would shoulder responsibility for the nation’s A(H1N1) epidemic control, he would let his deputies demonstrate their abilities.
“I will be going unless an uncontrollable community spread occurs in the nation; [otherwise] the Centers for Disease Control is doing a good job and we should let them take care of the situation,” Yeh said.
Yeh said that if absolutely necessary, he could rush back to the nation within 24 hours should anything urgent arise.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
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