Taiwan News
Date: 2016-01-08
By: Chia Lee, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

South Korean government said Friday that the Middle East Respiratory

Syndrome (MERS) virus that spread through the country last year underwent a mutation that could have affected its ability to infect people and the fatality rate.
South Korean government said Friday that the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus that spread through the country last year underwent a mutation that could have affected its ability to infect people and the fatality rate.

MERS, a strain of coronavirus that causes a viral respiratory illness, was first reported in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2012, and has since spread to several other countries, with South Korea being the only country outside the Middle East that has had most confirmed cases.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-01-06
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration revealed Wednesday that fresh and

frozen vegetables accounted for the most of all cases that failed checks and inspections at Taiwan borders in 2015 due to excessive pesticide residue.

According to results provided by the FDA, there were a total of 888 nonconforming cases from inspections of imported products at the border from January 2015 to December 8, 2015.

FDA director Chiang Yu-mei said the top four nonconforming items were in the order of “fresh and frozen vegetables” with 213 cases (23.9%),” “eating utensils” with 191 cases (21.5%), “tea” with 118 cases (13.3%) and “fresh and frozen fruits” with 116 cases (13.1%).    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/06
By: Yang Shu-min and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Jan. 6 (CNA) An avian flu outbreak on poultry farms in Taiwan has

intensified over the past few weeks as the weather turned cooler, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said Wednesday.

It said that in the period from Dec. 4 last year to Jan. 4, avian flu hit 22 farms in Taiwan, escalating from one or two farms per week since last autumn.

Over the past three weeks, four to five poultry farms per week have been reporting infections, according to the COA’s Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine.

Shih Tai-hua (施泰華), deputy chief of the bureau, said 10 of the 22 farms confirmed to have been infected in the one-month period from Dec. 4 last year were hit by the highly pathogenic H5N2 virus, a new strain that has been discovered in Taiwan for the first time.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-01-05
By: Chia Lee, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The two confirmed dengue cases were female Taiwanese travelers returning

from trips to India and Thailand, areas at-risk of dengue fever infection.
Airport fever screening has identified two confirmed dengue cases since the beginning of the year. The authorities have immediately started prevention and control measures.

Taiwan has begun a series of new measures starting January 1, including rapid dengue fever screening tests to check for possible infection of inbound passengers with a body temperature higher than 38 degrees Celsius and having arrived from dengue-endemic areas for more than six days, according to the Central News Agency.

The two confirmed dengue cases were female Taiwanese travelers returning from trips to India and Thailand, areas at-risk of dengue fever infection.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/05
By: Zoe Wei and Christie Chen

Taipei, Jan. 5 (CNA) Dengue fever outbreaks may become normal in Taiwan, Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) said Tuesday, as the government announced a nationwide action plan for the prevention of the mosquito-borne disease.

The public should know that a dengue fever epidemic is likely to occur in Taiwan every year, and they will not be small-scale outbreaks, Mao said at a forum on dengue fever prevention, which was organized by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA).

Experts have said the annual plum rain season in Taiwan in May and June is a critical time to prevent dengue fever outbreaks, and they suggested that authorities implement measures before the arrival of the season, Mao said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/02
By: Chang Jung-hsiang and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 2 (CNA) Out of a total of 37 districts in Tainan, the city declared Saturday that 21 have been free from dengue fever infection at a time when the impact resulting from the mosquito-borne disease has been fading.

The 21 districts have reported zero dengue fever infection for 28 consecutive days, and by this definition, these districts were considered clear of dengue infections, according to the Tainan City Government’s Department of Health.

The dengue fever free districts are Danei, Liouying, Baihe, Zuojhen, Shanshang, Nansi, Yanshuei , Lioujia, Guantian, Cigu, Yujing, Jiali, Syuejia, Jiangjyun, Houbi, Longci, Madou, Siaying, Nanhua, Sinshih and Sinhua, the health authorities said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/12/29
By: Chen Wei-ting and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Dec. 29 (CNA) The dengue fever outbreak in Taiwan, which began in May, is showing signs of abating as fewer weekly cases have been reported over the past five consecutive weeks in Kaohsiung, one of the hardest-hit cities, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Tuesday.

Last week, 490 new cases were reported around the country, bringing the total number of cases since May to 43,060, according to figures from the CECC released Monday.

On Monday alone, Kaohsiung reported 49 new cases, bringing the total number of cases in the southern Taiwanese city to 19,395.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/12/27
By: Chen Wei-ting and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Dec. 27 (CNA) The government has raised its travel warning for South

and Central America because of a recent increase in confirmed cases of Zika virus infection in some countries there, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Sunday.

The CDC cautioned local citizens to take precautions against mosquito bites if they plan to travel to South or Central America, adding that the government has raised its travel warning for these regions to the level of “Watch.”

As there is no vaccine or medication for Zika, travelers to these regions are advised to use insect repellent, wear protective clothing, and stay in lodgings where there are mosquito screens on windows and doors, the CDC added.     [FULL  STORY]