Three people living in the same home in northern Taiwan were confirmed to be the first clustered cases of typhoid fever this year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
A woman in her 30s, her young child and an Indonesian nurse in her 30s were confirmed to have the disease on July 2, Tuesday last week and Wednesday last week respectively, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said.
They had not visited any other countries recently, nor had they socialized with other foreign domestic workers in the area, he said.
Photo: CNA
The mother and child experienced a fever and muscle pain from June 23 to July 6, but had mistaken the symptoms for dengue fever or influenza, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said.
The nurse did not experience any symptoms, but was nevertheless confirmed to have the disease, he said, adding that the child has been hospitalized for treatment, while the local health department is still tracking the possible source of infection.
The cluster is unusual, as most people are infected with typhoid fever after eating contaminated food in other countries, Lin said.
As of Monday, 10 imported cases and four indigenous cases have been confirmed so far this year, he added.
Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection that spreads mainly through contaminated food and water, usually raw or undercooked food, or close contact with an infected person, Lin said.
Common symptoms include continuous fever, headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea and coughing, he said.
The morality rate is less than 1 percent if treated, but can reach 10 to 20 percent if left untreated, he added.
To avoid contracting the disease, Lin recommended eating foods that have been thoroughly cooked and are still hot, drinking boiled or bottled water, avoiding raw foods, and washing hands thoroughly with soap before meals and after using the toilet.
People who are planning to visit areas affected by the disease should consult a doctor about getting vaccinated in advance, Lin said.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
MINOR DISRUPTION: The outage affected check-in and security screening, while passport control was done manually and runway operations continued unaffected The main departure hall and other parts of Terminal 2 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport lost power on Tuesday, causing confusion among passengers before electricity was fully restored more than an hour later. The outage, the cause of which is still being investigated, began at about midday and affected parts of Terminal 2, including the check-in gates, the security screening area and some duty-free shops. Parts of the terminal immediately activated backup power sources, while others remained dark until power was restored in some of the affected areas starting at 12:23pm. Power was fully restored at 1:13pm. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a
RSS