The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that preliminary tests have excluded flu, avian flu or adenovirus infections as possible causes of a pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China, that was first reported last week.
After a rumor spread online on Tuesday last week about a SARS-like infection in Wuhan, the CDC on Tuesday announced that while information from the Chinese government suggests that the disease does not resemble SARS, enhanced preventive measures would take effect immediately.
CDC officials are boarding all flights from Wuhan to Taiwan — 12 flights per week — to check whether passengers or crew have symptoms indicating a possible case of the disease, the agency said.
Photo courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control
CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said that the Chinese government has excluded flu, avian flu and adenovirus as possible causes, but it had not ruled out other novel viruses, such as a coronavirus.
“Coronaviruses can cause mild symptoms, similar to a common cold, but they can also cause serious symptoms, such as SARS or MERS [Middle East respiratory syndrome],” Chuang said, adding that it is also important to find the source of the infection.
Chinese government information showed that there was no apparent evidence of human-to-human transmission, but the source of infection, the transmission route and whether there are communal outbreaks would be key points for the CDC to follow up on, and the factors will affect the centers’ risk evaluation, he said.
Since Tuesday last week, seven flights from Wuhan to Taiwan with a combined 633 passengers and crew had been inspected by airport quarantine officials, with six passengers showing mild symptoms, Chuang said.
One of the cases was confirmed as the flu, one a flu-like illness, one a common cold and another had a reduced fever, while local heath departments are following up on the two other cases, he said.
The CDC has issued a notice to healthcare professionals, urging them to be alert when treating people for pneumonia and to check whether they have traveled to Wuhan recently, he said, adding that they should report suspected cases and send a specimen for tests.
Forty-four people had been diagnosed with the illness as of Friday, with 11 in a critical condition, Chinese government data showed.
A total of 121 people who have had direct contact with patients are being observed, the data showed.
The CDC said that people planning to visit Wuhan and nearby areas should wash their hands frequently with soap, wear a surgical mask, avoid livestock markets, hospitals and crowded areas, and report to the airport quarantine station if they have a fever or flu-like symptoms when returning to Taiwan.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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