Preliminary tests at a New Taipei City indoor water park, which was visited by a woman who later died from a rare brain-eating amoeba, were negative for Naegleria fowleri, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesperson Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) said that experts from the centers and the New Taipei City Department of Health visited the indoor water park on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday last week, collecting 56 specimens from 10 areas.
The test results of 14 specimens from three areas — the water inlets, the pool walls and the pool floor — were negative for N fowleri, while the test results of the other specimens are expected to come back between Thursday and Monday next week, Tseng said.
CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said that N fowleri infection is rare, as no more than 400 cases have been reported globally since the first case was reported in 1965, including two in Japan and an imported case in South Korea.
Health authorities in Australia, Canada and the US suggest that water disinfected with free chlorine at a concentration of between 0.5mg per liter (mg/L) and 1mg/L can effectively kill amoebas such as N fowleri in swimming pools, Tseng said.
The US CDC suggests that 1mg/L of free chlorine be used for pool water, which can kill 99.9 percent of amoebas, she added.
In Taiwan, the guidelines for infectious disease prevention and sanitation control at business venues stipulate that swimming pool water should have a pH level of between 6.5 and eight, and that the free chlorine concentration should be between 1mg/L and 3mg/L, she said.
Lin said research suggests that the amoeba is commonly found in warm fresh water, and prefers water temperatures between 25°C and 46°C.
It has been found in lakes, rivers and hot springs, but cases have also been reported at swimming pools and water parks, he said.
Lin said that when engaging in freshwater activities, people should avoid submerging their heads under the water or stirring up sediment, and should seek medical attention immediately and tell their doctors about the water activity if they begin to experience suspected symptoms of an amoeba infection, including fever, headache, nausea and vomiting.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by