Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/12/10
By: Kuo Chih-hsuan and S.C. Chang

Taipei, Dec. 10 (CNA) Pingtung County’s animal disease control officials on Thursday culled 8,881 ducks after the highly pathogenic bird flu virus H5N8 was found to have infected some ducks on a poultry farm in Changzhi Township, officials said.

County officials said the farm operator kept the birds in a closed environment in violation of the law and they decided to issue a fine on the owner in accordance with the act governing the prevention of animal infectious diseases.

To reduce the risk of spreading virus, local health authorities have worked with the farm owner in disinfecting the area and launched monitoring and sampling of poultry within a 1 km radius from the infected farm, said the officials.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/12/08
By: Chen Wei-ting and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Dec. 8 (CNA) Taiwan has confirmed 11 new deaths caused by hemorrhagic dengue fever, bringing the death toll up to 195 since the outbreak began in May, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) reported Tuesday.

Among them was a 29-year-old man with cerebral palsy, the youngest victim recorded so far this year.

Since the start of May, a total of 40,919 indigenous dengue fever cases have been reported as of Dec. 7, with 22,696 in Tainan and 17,397 in Kaohsiung.

On Monday alone, Taiwan reported 183 new cases, with the southern cities of Kaohsiung and Tainan, where the dengue fever outbreak has been concentrated since the summer, recording 167 and five new cases, respectively.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: December 8, 2015

An international conference on dengue fever prevention and control opened Dec. 7 in Tainan

City, marking a new milestone in cross-border efforts combating the tropical disease.

Staged at National Cheng Kung University, the two-day event brings together 190 experts, government officials and health care professionals from 12 countries across the Asia-Pacific. These are Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the U.S. and Vietnam.

Dr. Kuo Hsu-sung, director-general of co-organizer Centers for Disease Control under the ROC Ministry of Health and Welfare, said the timing of the conference could not be better as Tainan is making impressive progress in bringing a record dengue fever outbreak under control.

“We believe the cross-sector fight to contain the disease in the southern Taiwan metropolis serves as a successful model for our partners throughout the region.”     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/12/03

Taipei, Dec. 3 (CNA) The number of dengue fever cases in Taiwan has risen to 39,898 since

the start of May, with 247 new cases recorded Wednesday, according to data released by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) for Dengue Outbreak Thursday.

On Wednesday, Kaohsiung alone had reported 234 new cases, bringing the total cases in the southern city to 16,449, the updated data on the dengue fever outbreak showed.

The figures indicated the outbreak remains at its peak in the port city, the CECC said.

In neighboring Tainan, the number of dengue fever cases had reached 22,667, with only six new cases reported on Wednesday, it said.     [FULL  STORY][

NewsX
Date: December 1, 2015
By IANS

Taipei: The number of deaths from dengue fever in Taiwan has risen to 184 since May this year, with 10 newly confirmed fatalities, the Central Epidemic Command Centre (CECC) said on Tuesday.

All 10 new fatalities were from Kaohsiung, and were aged between 56 and 82, Taiwan News reported.

Most of the deceased suffered from chronic underlying diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, according to the CECC.

All of the deaths from the mosquito-borne disease have been reported in southern Taiwan, including 112 in Tainan, followed by 70 in Kaohsiung and two in Pingtung county.

On Monday, 266 new cases of dengue fever were recorded around Taiwan, bringing the total number of infections since the start of May to 39,350.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/12/01
By: Chen Wei-ting and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Dec. 1 (CNA) An expert in infectious diseases said Tuesday that anybody who has The Centers for Disease Control lights up a giant red ribbon — symbol of awareness and support for people living with HIV — Monday night.

unprotected sex could be at risk of contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), citing figures showing a higher percentage of heterosexuals contracting the disease over the past year.

On World AIDS Day on Tuesday, Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Taiwan had recorded 2,134 new cases of HIV infection this year, with 85 percent resulting from sex among gay men, 10 percent coming through heterosexual sex and 3 percent resulting from drug injections.

The percentage attributed to sex between men was down from over 90 percent in recent years, said Hsieh Szu-min (謝思民), an attending physician in the section of infectious diseases of National Taiwan University Hospital, and people of all ages were affected.

“There is no longer a so-called high risk group for HIV/AIDS.” he said, “People can be infected as long as they have unprotected sex.”

FAMILY FIRST:After spending time with loved ones, other popular choices for last wishes included: departing the world in peace, making amends or expressing gratitude

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 02, 2015
By: Chen Ping-hung and Jonathan Chin  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

In a poll conducted by the Taiwan Harmony Home Association, 34 percent of AIDS patients

said they want to spend the last day of their life with their family.

The association — a charity group founded in 1986 that operates halfway homes for AIDS patients who are unable or unwilling to live at home — said it published the survey to raise awareness for World AIDS Day, which was yesterday.

The survey had 88 respondents aged between 19 and 80, about 90 percent of whom were men, in addition to two family members of AIDS patients, according to Harmony Home’s Enterprise Development Department director Chiao Hui-ling (喬慧玲).

The survey asked respondents to pick a final wish for their last days from six options: family, spirituality, life, health, work or travel, Chiao said.     [FULL  STORY]