The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday confirmed this year’s first case of H7N9 avian influenza in a human — a 69-year-old man who returned from China last month.
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said the man went to Yangjiang City in China’s Guangdong Province in September last year and worked there until the Lunar New Year holiday last month.
“The man said he developed a fever and respiratory symptoms on Jan. 23, before boarding a plane from Macau to Kaohsiung for the holiday,” Lo said. “He is Taiwanese and a resident of Kaohsiung.”
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
He said the man arrived in Taiwan on Jan. 25 and personnel from the CDC quarantine station at Kaohsiung International Airport detected his fever and suggested that he seek medical attention at a hospital.
A hospital diagnosed his condition as a suspected case of type A (H3N2) influenza, but after test results returned negative, the man was given antiviral medicine used to treat flu symptoms and was instructed to rest, Lo said.
However, the man’s fever persisted, and he started coughing up phlegm and having difficulty breathing on Sunday last week, and was hospitalized with a suspected case of pneumonia at an intensive care unit on Wednesday, Lo said, adding that the patient’s case was confirmed as an H7N9 avian influenza infection after the CDC examined a specimen sent by the hospital.
“H7N9 avian influenza is usually transmitted from birds to humans and its early symptoms are similar to those of flu, but the patient’s condition rapidly worsens after a week, developing into a serious case of pneumonia, with a mortality rate of about 30 to 40 percent,” he said.
The patient is still in the intensive care unit, Lo said, adding that an investigation found that two of his colleagues in China had upper respiratory symptoms, but the symptoms subsided after they received medical treatment.
The man’s two relatives showed no avian influenza symptoms, Lo said, adding that the CDC will follow up on the condition of 108 people who had come into contact with the man recently.
The CDC said that 261 cases of H7N9 avian influenza infection in humans have been reported in China since October last year.
It urged the public to exercise caution and avoid direct exposure to poultry when traveling to China, as that nation is at the peak of its flu season.
ESCALATING TENSIONS: The US called for restraint and meaningful dialogue after Beijing threatened Taiwanese independence advocates with the death sentence The US on Monday condemned China’s “escalatory and destabilizing language and actions” toward Taiwan after Beijing last week announced new guidelines to punish supporters of Taiwanese independence. Asked about the guidelines, which included the death sentence for “diehard” independence advocates, US Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller said: “We strongly condemn the escalatory and destabilizing language and actions from PRC [People’s Republic of China] officials.” “We continue to urge restraint and no unilateral change to the status quo,” he said at the press briefing. The US urges China to “engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan,” Miller said, adding that “threats and legal
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
WATER CONCERNS: The CWA encouraged people to conserve water, as fewer typhoons would bring less rain, and the plum rain season brought in only 60% of average rainfall About two to four typhoons are forecast to come close to Taiwan between now and November, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, as it also forecast that extreme heat would persist throughout the week, only dropping by 1°C after Friday. The number of typhoons is slightly lower than the average of three to five, reflecting a weakening El Nino weather pattern and the possibility of a La Nina pattern approaching, CWA Weather Forecast Center Director Chen Yi-liang (陳怡良) told a news conference in Taipei. While typically fewer typhoons develop under such conditions, their routes would be more likely to pass near