Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/08/04
By: Chen Wei-ting and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Aug. 4 (CNA) Taiwan has issued its highest-level travel advisory in its three-tier system for four Southeast and South Asian countries after a record high number of imported chikungunya fever cases from those countries were reported in Taiwan.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Sunday it has issued the Level 1 travel advisory for chikungunya infection for the first time, warning against all non-essential travel to Myanmar, Maldives, Thailand and India — countries where the virus was imported into Taiwan since July.

A Level 1 travel warning advises that precautions should be taken when visiting the countries listed, including obtaining the relevant vaccines and ensuring protection against mosquito bites.

Taiwan reported in July the first indigenous case of chikungunya fever in the country's history and samples of the chikungunya virus were found to contain sequences of the gene identical to those of the virus strain from Myanmar this year, according to the CDC.   [FULL  STORY]