Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) yesterday urged people to wear proper safety equipment when cleaning up after flooding caused by Typhoon Gaemi.
Chiu also urged people to disinfect their homes and cook food thoroughly after flooding to prevent waterborne disease.
The typhoon that swept across the nation last week caused serious flooding in some parts of the south, and many people are still cleaning up their homes after wind and flood damage, he said.
Photo: CNA
“I want to remind everyone to stay safe when cleaning up and be careful not to get cut or stabbed by sharp objects during the process, as open wounds exposed to floodwater can increase the risk of infection,” he said.
People should carefully examine affected areas and remove standing water to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in them, and carefully disinfect their home and practice good food hygiene to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases, he said
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said that a few diseases are often reported shortly after a typhoon, such as leptospirosis, melioidosis and dengue infections.
The risk of contracting leptospirosis and melioidosis, bacterial infections that affect people and animals, often increases after a typhoon or flood, when people come into contact with contaminated water or soil, Chuang said.
The bacterium that causes melioidosis can also be spread by strong winds and inhaled by people, he added.
“Typhoon Gaemi was similar to Typhoon Morakot in 2009, which caused serious flooding in central and southern Taiwan, and after the storm, outbreaks of melioidosis and leptospirosis were reported,” he said. “The CDC urges people to take precautions and asks that doctors stay alert for possible cases.”
Typhoons in previous years also often caused an increase in dengue fever infections, especially if dengue cases had been reported before the typhoon, such as when Typhoon Soudelor hit in 2015 and Typhoon Khanun last year, Chuang said.
“While there were no local dengue cases reported since early last month, there are still imported cases of dengue and Chikungunya fever, and if some were undetected, post-flood can still increase the risk of a local outbreak,” he said.
The CDC has distributed disinfectants to local governments in areas of central and southern Taiwan that were most affected by Gaemi, Chuang said.
Yesterday morning, it issued a notification to medical personnel nationwide to stay alert to possible diseases.
If local governments need additional personnel for cleanup operations, the CDC would report it to the Cabinet to make arrangements to provide more help, Chuang said.
Taipei Medical Association chairperson Hung Te-jen (洪德仁) said that some diseases related to flooding might not present with clear symptoms, but common mild symptoms could include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, rashes, diarrhea, and pain behind the eyes.
“People should be on alert and see a physician if they suffer ‘pain behind the eyes,’ and tell a doctor whether they had been cleaning up flood-contaminated areas, if they have open wounds, had direct exposure to floodwater or have mosquito bites, to help diagnose possible infections or tetanus,” he said.
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said the centers enhances disease surveillance for a month after a natural disaster, as the incubation period of leptospirosis could be up to 30 days and up to 21 days for melioidosis, while mosquitoes can grow from eggs to adults in a week.
People should “examine, empty, clean and scrub” empty containers and ditches that can hold standing water; wear protective gear such as long sleeves, long waterproof boots and gloves, and a mask, when cleaning up after a flood; and not eat floodwater contaminated food or frozen food that has thawed too long, he said.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS