The Center for Disease Control reported yesterday Taiwan's third case hit of atypical pneumonia, a potentially fatal disease, cases of which have now been found in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore and Canada.
The center said the World Health Organization reported yesterday increases in atypical pneumonia cases in Hong Kong, Singapore and Canada.
Chen Tsai-ching (陳再晉), the center's director-general, said in a press conference that the four cases in Canada were from the same family. "Three of them have traveled to Hong Kong and two of them have died," said Chen.
Chen added that no fatal cases have been reported in Hong Kong and Singapore.
According to the center, Taiwan's third case of atypical pneumonia was a 64-year-old female. An Ilan hospital reported the case to the center yesterday afternoon, Chen said.
"The patient, having been traveling in Guangdong Province between Feb. 23 and March 1, returned to Taiwan via Hong Kong. She began to have fever on March 7 and was hospitalized on March 13," Chen said.
The center reported the first two atypical pneumonia cases, a China-based Taiwanese businessman and his wife, on Friday.
According to Chen, the businessman suffers diffuse pneumonia and adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). "His wife and the third case's symptoms are relatively less severe," Chen said.
According to the center, the 54-year-old businessman had been traveling in Guangdong Province between Feb. 8 and 21. After returning to Taiwan on Feb. 23, he began to have fever on Feb. 25.
The businessman and his wife have been admitted to National Taiwan University Hospital.
The hospital said the couple has been quarantined. "They stay in a ward that has an independent air conditioning system. The air in the ward does not circulate to other areas of the hospital," a hospital press release said.
The hospital has also asked staff tending the couple to take strict precautionary measures such as wearing masks and caps and washing hands frequently.
According to the hospital, the businessman's situation has been deteriorating after he was hospitalized on March 8.
Although the center reported the couple as atypical pneumonia cases, the hospital described yesterday the couple's disease as "pneumonia plus ARDS."
The hospital said it could not verify whether the couple's disease was related to the atypical pneumonia cases in China, Vietnam and Hong Kong before results from the couple's saliva and blood tests were available.
Chen said various bacteria and viruses could cause atypical pneumonia.
"It is likely that a mutated virus has caused this tide of severe pneumonia," Chen said.
Chen excluded the possibility that the couple's illness is linked to bird flu and also said it was unlikely bacteria caused the disease.
"If bacteria caused the illness, antibiotics would be effective. However, the antibiotics doctors administered on the husband have not been effective in improving his situation," Chen said.
He also urged people to cancel unnecessary trips to countries where atypical pneumonia cases have been reported.
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 12:37pm today, with clear shaking felt across much of northern Taiwan. There were no immediate reports of damage. The epicenter of the quake was 16.9km east-southeast of Yilan County Hall offshore at a depth of 66.8km, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. The maximum intensity registered at a 4 in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳) on Taiwan’s seven-tier scale. Other parts of Yilan, as well as certain areas of Hualien County, Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu County, Taichung and Miaoli County, recorded intensities of 3. Residents of Yilan County and Taipei received
Taiwan has secured another breakthrough in fruit exports, with jujubes, dragon fruit and lychees approved for shipment to the EU, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency on Thursday received formal notification of the approval from the EU, the ministry said, adding that the decision was expected to expand Taiwanese fruit producers’ access to high-end European markets. Taiwan exported 126 tonnes of lychees last year, valued at US$1.48 million, with Japan accounting for 102 tonnes. Other export destinations included New Zealand, Hong Kong, the US and Australia, ministry data showed. Jujube exports totaled 103 tonnes, valued at
BIG SPENDERS: Foreign investors bought the most Taiwan equities since 2005, signaling confidence that an AI boom would continue to benefit chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) market capitalization swelled to US$2 trillion for the first time following a 4.25 percent rally in its American depositary receipts (ADR) overnight, putting the world’s biggest contract chipmaker sixth on the list of the world’s biggest companies by market capitalization, just behind Amazon.com Inc. The site CompaniesMarketcap.com ranked TSMC ahead of Saudi Aramco and Meta Platforms Inc. The Taiwanese company’s ADRs on Tuesday surged to US$385.75 on the New York Stock Exchange, as strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications led to chip supply constraints and boost revenue growth to record-breaking levels. Each TSMC ADR represents
RSS