Two officials of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC) based in Thailand arrived in Taiwan yesterday to help study the cause of Taiwan's three atypical pneumonia cases.
The USCDC officials are Scott Dowell, director of the International Emerging Infections Program, and Sonja Olsen, chief of the epidemiology section of the program.
Both attended a press conference in Taiwan's Center for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday afternoon with Twu Shiing-jer (
PHOTO: LIAO RAY-SHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Dowell and Olsen made no comments yesterday on the three cases of atypical pneumonia Taiwan has already experienced.
Chen, however, quoted the US officials as saying that according to the medical history and clinical status of the three cases, the cause of their illness is "probably the same" as that of the atypical pneumonia cases in other southeast Asian countries.
According to Chen, blood and saliva specimens taken from the three patients will be sent to the USCDC for further examination.
Meanwhile, with three atypical pneumonia cases reported on Friday and Saturday, the DOH called yesterday for the public to remain calm and not to be in a rush to buy surgical masks.
The first two cases, a China-based Taiwanese businessman and his wife, were admitted to National Taiwan University Hospital and the third case, a 64-year-old woman, was sent to Ilan Hospital.
Twu said the hospitals and the CDC are in the process of verifying which virus caused the three cases.
Both the businessman and the 64-year-old woman were traveling in China's Guangdong Province in February. Twu said it was yet to be decided whether their sickness was related to their trips.
"Both began to have symptoms about a week after their return to Taiwan. The incubation period for their disease is different from ordinary flu," Twu said.
The CDC said it had reported the three cases to the World Health Organization (WHO) and asked people to avoid trips to Hong Kong, China, Vietnam and Singapore.
The Geneva-based WHO said that in the past week it had received more than 150 reports worldwide of the atypical pneumonia, which it has called "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)."
The WHO issued an emergency travel advisory to travelers and airlines on Saturday.
According to the statement, the WHO has received reports of more than 150 new suspected cases of SARS from Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam over the past week.
The statement advised travelers including airline crew to be aware of the following symptoms and signs of SARS: a high fever (above 38?C) and one or more respiratory symptoms, including cough, shortness of breath, difficulty in breathing, and one or more of the following: close contact with a person who has been diagnosed with SARS or recent history of travel to areas reporting cases of SARS.
"In the unlikely event of a traveler experiencing this combination of symptoms they should seek medical attention and ensure that information about their recent travel is passed on to the health care staff," the statement said.
"Any traveler who develops these symptoms is advised not to undertake further travel until they have recovered," said the statement.
Chen yesterday urged the public, hospital staff, airlines and travel agencies to abide by the WHO's advisory.
Twu said yesterday that though Taiwan had asked for help from the WHO, the organization had refused Taiwan's request. This was unfair not only for the people of Taiwan but, given the transnational nature of the infection, the people of the world at large, Twu said.
Chen said the three cases were all staying in isolation wards. According to Chen, many hospitals across the island have advanced isolation wards that can handle similar infectious cases.
To contain the infectious disease, National Taiwan University Hospital has upgraded isolation measures in the couple's ward to biosafety level 3 (BSL3).
According to the USCDC's definition, BSL3 is applicable to clinical or diagnostic facilities in which "work is done with indigenous or exotic agents which may cause serious or potentially lethal disease as a result of exposure by the inhalation route."
Chen said that the CDC had obtained a budget to develop wards that can handle BSL4 -- the ultimate level -- conditions. Currently, only a few countries possess such advanced wards.
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
A Vietnamese migrant worker yesterday won NT$12 million (US$379,627) on a Lunar New Year scratch card in Kaohsiung as part of Taiwan Lottery Co’s (台灣彩券) “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” (1200萬大吉利) game. The man was the first top-prize winner of the new game launched on Jan. 6 to mark the Lunar New Year. Three Vietnamese migrant workers visited a Taiwan Lottery shop on Xinyue Street in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (崗山), a store representative said. The player bought multiple tickets and, after winning nothing, held the final lottery ticket in one hand and rubbed the store’s statue of the Maitreya Buddha’s belly with the other,
‘NATO-PLUS’: ‘Our strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific are facing increasing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party,’ US Representative Rob Wittman said The US House of Representatives on Monday released its version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes US$1.15 billion to support security cooperation with Taiwan. The omnibus act, covering US$1.2 trillion of spending, allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, as well as US$150 million for the replacement of defense articles and reimbursement of defense services provided to Taiwan. The fund allocations were based on the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 that was passed by the US Congress last month and authorized up to US$1 billion to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in support of the
‘COMMITTED TO DETERRENCE’: Washington would stand by its allies, but it can only help as much as countries help themselves, Raymond Greene said The US is committed to deterrence in the first island chain, but it should not bear the burden alone, as “freedom is not free,” American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said in a speech at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research’s “Strengthening Resilience: Defense as the Engine of Development” seminar in Taipei yesterday. In the speech, titled “Investing Together and a Secure and Prosperous Future,” Greene highlighted the contributions of US President Donald Trump’s administration to Taiwan’s defense efforts, including the establishment of supply chains for drones and autonomous systems, offers of security assistance and the expansion of
RSS