Parents should wash their hands thoroughly before feeding toddlers, doctors at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital said after a 10-day-old infant became critically ill due to salmonella infection.
The hospital recently admitted three cases of infants less than one year old who had serious salmonella gastroenteritis, with the youngest — 10 days old — developing serious complications, including necrotizing enterocolitis, gastrointestinal perforation, peritonitis and septicemia.
Salmonellosis is most common between July and October, and it is usually caused by eating raw or undercooked food, or drinking contaminated water, hospital deputy superintendent Chiu Cheng-hsun (邱政洵) said.
Most people with salmonellosis suffer acute gastroenteritis, and children younger than five, especially infants less than one year old, are the most susceptible to salmonella infection, he said.
Common symptoms of salmonellosis include a fever, nausea, vomiting, headache, abdominal cramps and diarrhea six to 72 hours after infection, he said, adding that some might have mucus or blood in their stool.
Healthy adults or older children can usually recover on their own without seeking medical attention, but toddlers, elderly people or people with weak immune systems might suffer serious complications, including pneumonia, septicemia, osteomyelitis, meningitis and gastrointestinal perforation, which could be fatal if left untreated or if treatment is delayed, he said.
Chickens, ducks and other poultry might have salmonella in their bodies, so people might be infected from eating raw or undercooked eggs, Chiu said.
A three-year study by the hospital’s researchers on salmonellosis cases in the nation showed that they were mainly caused by undercooked pork and chicken meat, and were directly or indirectly transmitted to humans.
As infants’ main nutrition comes from breastmilk or formula milk, the study suggests that salmonella was likely passed on by parents who did not thoroughly wash their hands after handling raw meat, or did not have separate cutting boards and knives for meat and fruit or vegetables, Chiu said.
Parents should wash their hands thoroughly, especially before preparing food or feeding toddlers, to prevent salmonellosis in children, physicians Lee Chien-chung (李建忠) and Tsai An-li (蔡安黎) said.
They also suggested preparing or storing meat in the refrigerator right after reaching home; using separate cutting boards and knives for raw and cooked food; cooking eggs and meat thoroughly; not drinking unsterilized water; and seeking immediate medical attention if a toddler has a fever, diarrhea or vomits.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS