Health and Science

H5N2 flu detected in Changhua; over 20,000 chickens culled

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/10/18
By: Hsiao Po-yang and Maria Tsai

Taipei Oct. 18 (CNA) More than 20,000 chickens were culled on a poultry 201510180021t0001farm in Changhua County after it was confirmed that they had been infected with H5N2, a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, the local Animal Disease Control Center said Sunday.

Changhua’s Animal Disease Control Center received a report Wednesday that several indigenous chickens had died under unusual circumstances on a farm in Tacheng Township in Changhua County in central Taiwan.

Specimens sent to health authorities tested positive for the H5N2 bird flu virus, the Bureau of Animal Health Inspection and Quarantine confirmed Saturday. Based on the test results, local epidemic prevention workers culled 20,060 indigenous chickens on the farm Sunday, the bureau said.     [FULL  STORY]

Dengue fever outbreak intensifies in Kaohsiung, abates in Tainan

Want China Times
Date: 2015-10-18
By: CNA

The number of cases of dengue fever in Taiwan increased by 257 overnight,

A health worker sprays pesticide in Tainan, Oct. 17. (Photo/Huang Chung-yu)

A health worker sprays pesticide in Tainan, Oct. 17. (Photo/Huang Chung-yu)

with 25,131 recorded since May, according to the latest figures released by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Sunday.

As of Saturday, Kaohsiung had reported 145 new cases and Tainan 109, the first time the number in Kaohsiung has outstripped that in Tainan since the start of the summer.

Compared with overnight increases of 142 and 178 a week ago, the numbers indicate the outbreak is worsening in Kaohsiung and slowing down in neighboring Tainan, the CECC said.     [FULL  STORY]

Formosat-5 slated for February 2016 launch

Taiwan Today

Taiwan’s Formosat-5, an ultra-high-resolution Earth observation satellite

A technician works on Taiwan’s first locally made space-grade optical remote sensing instrument before its installation on the Formosat-5 satellite. (Courtesy of NSPO)

A technician works on Taiwan’s first locally made space-grade optical remote sensing instrument before its installation on the Formosat-5 satellite. (Courtesy of NSPO)

operated by the Hsinchu City-headquartered National Space Organization, is scheduled for launch in February 2016, according to the NSPO.

With over 70 percent of the satellite having been developed domestically, Formosat-5 contains a locally made optical remote sensing payload, a Cassegrain telescope-type remote sensing instrument and the world’s first complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor linear image sensor.

NSPO Director-General Chang Guey-shin said Oct. 15 that the satellite has passed space environment and function tests and is set to take over duties from Formosat-2, which has been in orbit since 2004.     [FULL  STORY]

Ministry ponders over Chinese investment in Taiwan’s IC design industry

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-10-14
By: Jocylin FC, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

In face of China’s uprising red supply chain, the Ministry of Economic Affairs

Chinese might invest in IC design industry. Central News Agency (2015-10-14 19:02:34)

Chinese might invest in IC design industry. Central News Agency (2015-10-14 19:02:34)

is assessing the possibility of Chinese investments in Taiwan’s IC design industry, the heart of Taiwan’s economy. The government officials stated that they do not have a timetable for the evaluation.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) pointed out that as China’s Tsinghua Holdings grows stronger, MediaTek Inc., one of the nation’s leading firms in the IC design industry, is trying to fight against the red supply chain and securing its market share in China by forming an alliance with Chinese investors.

MediaTek Inc. appealed to the Ministry of Economic Affairs to open doors to Chinese investors, but the Ministry is still pondering over the idea. In the past year, MediaTek chairman Tsai Ming-kai has been in touch with the leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China.     [FULL  STORY]

CDC closely following MERS reinfection in South Korea

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/10/13
By: Lilian Wu

Taipei, Oct. 13 (CNA) Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said

A check point for MERS set up in Seoul in June. (CNA file photo)

A check point for MERS set up in Seoul in June. (CNA file photo)

Tuesday it is keeping a close eye on a development in South Korea, where a patient who was declared cured of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) reportedly has been reinfected.

The patient was discharged from hospital Oct. 1 after recovering from a MERS infection, but developed a fever the next day and was diagnosed as having been infected again with the deadly virus, said CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang(莊人祥).

South Korea had planned to announce Oct. 29 the end of the MERS outbreak there but may have to postpone the date, according to foreign wire service reports.     [FULL  STORY]

Dengue fever outbreak rises to 23,456 cases in Taiwan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/10/13
By: Chen Wei-ting and Y.F. Low

Taipei, Oct. 13 (CNA) The number of dengue fever infections reported in 10595563Taiwan since the start of May has reached 23,456, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday.

The latest figure represents an increase of 346 cases from the previous day, the CDC said.

As of Monday, 19,421 cases had been reported in the southern municipality of Tainan and 3,645 in neighboring Kaohsiung, according to CDC figures.

In Tainan, the number of infections increased by 217 from the previous day, but that was 105 fewer new cases than reported on the same day last week in the city, the CDC said.   [FULL  STORY]

Dengue fever cases in Taiwan rise to 23,110

Want China Times
Date: 2015-10-12
By: CNA

The number of dengue fever infections reported in Taiwan since the start of

A health worker spays pesticide in Tainan, Oct. 5. (Photo/Huang Chung-yu)

A health worker spays pesticide in Tainan, Oct. 5. (Photo/Huang Chung-yu)

May has reached 23,110, the national Centers for Disease Control said Monday.

The latest figure represents an increase of 263 cases from the previous day, the lowest daily increase recorded since September, the CDC said.

As of Sunday, 19,204 cases had been reported in the southern municipality of Tainan and 3,519 in neighboring Kaohsiung, according to CDC figures.

In Tainan, the number of infections increased by 162 from the previous day.

Compared with the same day last week, the number of new cases in Tainan was 57 fewer, the CDC said.     [FULL  STORY]

Doctor warns against going crab crazy

FEELING CRABBY?While a Keelung doctor has some eating advice, purveyors offer a few tips on how to choose the freshest catch this fall, as well as pricing

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 13, 2015
By: Yu Chao-fu and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

As crab season has arrived in Taiwan, Lai Hui-lien (賴卉蓮), a physician at

A customer inspects live crabs at the Wanli District seafood market in New Taipei City on Wednesday last week. Photo: Yu Chao-fu, Taipei Times

A customer inspects live crabs at the Wanli District seafood market in New Taipei City on Wednesday last week. Photo: Yu Chao-fu, Taipei Times

the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Keelung Hospital, is urging members of the public to show restraint.

Crab meat is very rich in protein, which means it is not healthy to eat too much of it, Lai said, especially people who suffer from hypertension or cardiovascular diseases.

People with gout or skin allergies should avoid crab completely, she said.

Deemed to be “cold” in terms of Chinese medicine, crabs should not be eaten alongside with beer and pears, Lai said.

Crab season coincides with persimmon season, but the two do not go together, as the protein in crab meat can coagulate with the tannin in persimmon and lead to indigestion, which can cause food in the intestines to ferment and lead to stomach pains and diarrhea, the doctor said.     [FULL  STORY]

New Taiwan research ship expected to be ready in spring 2017

Want China Times
Date: 2015-10-11
By: CNA

Nearly one year after the Ocean Research V sunk in waters off

The Ocean Research V sinks. (Photo/Maritime Patrol Directorate General)

The Ocean Research V sinks. (Photo/Maritime Patrol Directorate General)

southwestern Taiwan, the National Applied Research Laboratories said Friday that a new research ship is expected to be ready no later than the spring of 2017.

According to Wang Jough-tai, vice president of the NARabs, the institution expects to purchase a 2,000-ton research ship, and a tender for the new ship was opened in September, with the result expected to be announced at the end of November.

In response to doubts over the competence of the sunken ship’s crew, which was contracted out and working on a three-month rotation when the accident happened, Wang said the NARabs will recruit its own new crew, and the new staff is expected to welcome the new ship in March 2017.     [FULL  STORY]

Dengue fever cases in Tainan likely to break 20,000

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-10-11
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The number of dengue fever contracts since the beginning of summer

Dengue cases in Tainan likely to break 20,000 Central News Agency

Dengue cases in Tainan likely to break 20,000 Central News Agency

reached 22,847 as of Saturday, an increase of 327 new cases nationwide, Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) revealed Sunday.

Although the epidemic in Tainan has shown signs of slowing down over the last two weeks, the CDC said it nevertheless expects the number to exceed 20,000 by Monday from the current 19,042 reported cases since May.

“The disease is subsiding in Tainan, as new daily cases have fallen between the 100 to 200 range from its previous 300 mark,” CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang said.

However, the mosquito-borne disease appears to have worsened in the port city of Kaohsiung, with 142 new cases to a standing total of 3,421 as of Saturday, according to the health bureau.     [FULL  STORY]