It is possible that SARS will resurface in this country, but the chances of a major outbreak of the killer atypical pneumonia are slim given experience accumulated in fighting the disease, Academia Sinica's vice president said yesterday.
Taiwan's achievements over the past year in the research and development of anti-SARS vaccines, SARS treatment medication as well as SARS virus identifying techniques were commendable, researcher Michael Lai (賴明詔) said.
Lai, reputed to be the father of coronavirus research and who studied the virus for more than 20 years in the US before assuming his job in Taiwan, made the remarks during a speech entitled "The Challenges of Viruses to Modern Societies" at a regular monthly meeting at the President Office yesterday, which was presided over by President Chen Shui-bian (
Experiments on animals have shown that the coronavirus can survive in animals for several months without the animal showing any symptoms, Lai said, adding that the same situation might be true for humans.
This would mean that some people might be carrying the virus without developing the disease, but still be capable of spreading the disease to others, he said.
Genetic analyses conducted in China showed that at least three types of SARS viruses had "jumped" from different types of civets to humans over the past two years, Lai said, adding that this means that SARS viruses could jump to human beings again and again because SARS viruses are already "rooted" in civets.
Against this backdrop, Lai said, SARS could recur as long as the animals exist.
Although the virus can mutate over time, Lai said, it will not change too greatly, and the public can protect itself properly by following the precautionary measures worked out by health agencies in the country.
More than one year after Taiwan was battered by SARS, the country is better equipped and prepared for any war against the epidemic disease in the future, Lai said.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
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