The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has teamed up with the National Defense Medical Center to establish a biological defense response team, the CDC said on Wednesday.
The team would be equipped with new high-tech tools such as rapid testing equipment for on-site sampling, and drones to assist with air monitoring and sampling to improve the ability to respond to bioterrorism attacks, the CDC said.
The National Defense Medical Center’s Institute of Preventive Medical Research would be responsible for planning, as well as conducting certification and training programs for the team, it said.
Photo: CNA
Four certified inspectors would be assigned to the CDC’s regional control centers to join the biological defense response teams, it said.
“Fear outweighs the harm,” CDC Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said about the effect of bioterrorism attacks.
Mail containing anthrax is a common form of bioterrorism that anyone could be targeted by, Chuang said.
While it is potentially fatal, it is more likely to spread fear and panic, he said.
In 2020, a package of powder was found at National Taiwan University Hospital, which led to a response team being dispatched in full personal protective gear, although it ended up being a false alarm, the CDC said.
The CDC has relied on basic methods for training its response teams, but due to the increasing complexity of global bioterrorism threats, more advanced equipment and knowledge are required, it said.
The CDC established biological defense response teams in six regional control centers in 2009 that remain on standby and ready for deployment at all times.
The six regional control centers combined have 48 personnel who have completed advanced training, Chuang said.
For the new team, four inspectors have been trained to handle front-line sampling tasks and inspections, while the original response team members are responsible for disinfection, equipment maintenance and packaging of samples, he said.
The CDC and the National Defense Medical Center have conducted joint training sessions focused on protective gear, emergency procedures and new technology training, Ministry of National Defense Medical Affairs Bureau official Chen Yuan-hao (陳元皓) said.
In the event of a suspected bioterrorism incident, the two agencies would be mobilized to manage the situation, ensure the public’s safety and respond rapidly, Chen added.
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
As Taiwan celebrated its baseball team’s victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 on Sunday, how politicians referred to the team in their congratulatory messages reflected the nation’s political divide. Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei (中華台北隊), made history with its first-ever Premier12 championship after beating Japan 4-0 at the Tokyo Dome. Right after the game, President William Lai (賴清德) congratulated the team via a post on his Facebook page. Besides the players, Lai also lauded the team’s coaching and medical staff, and the fans cheering for them in Tokyo or watching the live broadcast, saying that “every
RSS