The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said 11 townships across seven counties had been placed on red alert for enterovirus and that some 10 to 15 children could be expected to die from the illness this year.
Health officials said they were monitoring any developments regarding the virus and reminded parents not to ignore the potential danger.
"If there are three or more cases of the enterovirus in any classroom, students will be told to stay home for at least three weeks," said Tu Hsin-che (涂醒哲), director of the DOH's Bureau of Communicable Disease Control (疾病管制局).
Tu made the comments during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan's Sanitation, Environment, and Social Welfare Committee yesterday, where legislators echoed growing public concern over the news of three confirmed deaths so far this year from enterovirus infection.
Health officials said that enterovirus 71 (EV-71) infections had been found in eight townships in the counties of Chiayi, Changhua, Taoyuan, Taipei and Kaohsiung. Suspected cases were also reported in three other townships in Changhua, Taoyuan, and Taipei counties.
Health officials warned that vigilance must be maintained in areas placed on red alert, especially in the following weeks, and that the best prevention was good personal hygiene, including washing one's hands often and covering the mouth when coughing or sneezing.
In 1998, about 10,000 reported EV-71 infection cases were reported in Taiwan, causing 75 deaths and 400 serious illnesses. Symptoms of EV-71 infection include fever, rashes and ulcers in the mouth, and on the feet and hands. Health officials say there is no known vaccine for the virus, which has previously broken out in Malaysia, Bulgaria, Hungary and Japan.
Since children under five are most vulnerable to the disease, parents have been advised to be cautious of possible outbreaks in kindergartens.
In Kaohsiung County, where two children have died from the deadly virus, more than 30,000 children attending 406 different kindergartens were taught how to wash their hands thoroughly yesterday.
Teachers also suggested parents avoid taking children to public areas, in order to lower the possibility of getting infected.
The director-general of the DOH, Lee Ming-liang (
However, public health specialists in southern Taiwan told the Taipei Times yesterday that the outbreak had highlighted the poor coordination between local and central heath departments.
"When something like this happens, local health officials are always waiting for instructions from experts in Taipei, and this is not the most efficient way to handle the situation," said Chen Meei-shia (
Letting others know the importance of good hygiene in preventing the disease is difficult in southern Taiwan because of a lack of public health resources, Chen said.
"If more advanced public health research centers could be established in the south to train more professionals to provide information and counseling about the virus, the public would be better equipped to prevent these outbreaks," Chen said.
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
RSS