The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced on Saturday that amid the spreading of the H5N1 avian flu, a government-funded vaccine is now available for voluntary recipients who are at high risk of exposure to the influenza virus.
Starting on Friday, the CDC began to provide a vaccine against the H5N1 avian influenza and the service will continue until the end of August, the agency said.
The CDC recommended that people who work in the inspection and quarantine sectors, medical institutes and those who frequently visit countries with reported outbreaks of H5N1 bird flu should get vaccinated against the virus.
The H5N1 strain of bird flu was detected only in poultry at first, but has undergone genetic mutations in recent years which have resulted in human cases of the infection, the CDC said.
According to WHO statistics, 620 human cases of H5N1 infection have been reported and confirmed since 2003. Among them, 367 were fatal — a mortality rate of 59 percent.
The CDC said that smuggled birds carrying the virus were found at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport last year.
Those who work in virus-screening laboratories, inspection and quarantine sectors, the poultry industry, ports of entry and those who plan to travel to the endemic regions, with the exception of pregnant women, are advised by the CDC to receive the vaccine, provided they are more than 18 years of age.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
RSS