Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
Taiwan records 25th death from H1N1
Central News Agency
2009-10-21
Taipei, Oct. 21 (CNA) Health authorities reported Wednesday that a 54-year-old man with underlying conditions has died from influenza A (H1N1), the 25th person in Taiwan to die from the virus.
The patient, a resident of Keelung City, had suffered from hepatitis and kidney disease, according to the Central Epidemics Command Center (CECC).
CECC statistics showed that there were seven more patients hospitalized with the H1N1 flu strain than a day earlier, including four children between seven months and seven years old.
The total number of such cases since the outbreak began has reached 395.
While 25 of the patients remained in the hospital, 345 had recovered and been discharged, the CECC said.
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, 639 classes in 367 schools around the country remained closed because of H1N1 infections among the students. The number of affected classes account for 0.42 percent of the total, according to the CECC.
Wang Chun-chuan, director-general of the Department of Physical Education under the Ministry of Education, said the number of class closures on Tuesday was the highest on record, which could be a sign that the H1N1 outbreak is escalating again after a lull in late September.
The Centers for Disease Control under the Department of Health (DOH) recently warned that a second wave of the H1N1 outbreak is emerging in Taiwan and is likely to peak in November, after the previous wave peaked in early September.
In an effort to contain the spread of the new flu strain, the DOH is scheduled to launch a free nationwide inoculation program Nov. 1 that targets selected groups considered at risk of developing serious complications from H1N1 infections.
As the vaccines produced by local vaccine manufacturer Adimmune Corp. are not expected to hit the market until mid-November, vaccines supplied by the Swiss-based pharmaceutical firm Novartis will be used in the first weeks of the program.
Asked by lawmakers during a meeting of the legislature's Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee about the performance of the locally produced vaccine, DOH Minister Yaung Chih-liang said the initial results of human clinical trials show that the Adimmune vaccine is not inferior to that made by Novartis.
Yaung said, however, that detailed results will only be made public after related data are reviewed by a pharmaceutical screening committee under the DOH.
According to Kang Chao-chou, chief of the DOH's Bureau of Pharmaceutical Affairs, the committee is expected to meet Thursday night to review the results, after which the conclusions will be forwarded to the CECC for its reference.
However, a complete report on the protective effect and safety of the vaccine will only be available in mid-November, he said.
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1087058&lang=eng_news
Central News Agency
2009-10-21
Taipei, Oct. 21 (CNA) Health authorities reported Wednesday that a 54-year-old man with underlying conditions has died from influenza A (H1N1), the 25th person in Taiwan to die from the virus.
The patient, a resident of Keelung City, had suffered from hepatitis and kidney disease, according to the Central Epidemics Command Center (CECC).
CECC statistics showed that there were seven more patients hospitalized with the H1N1 flu strain than a day earlier, including four children between seven months and seven years old.
The total number of such cases since the outbreak began has reached 395.
While 25 of the patients remained in the hospital, 345 had recovered and been discharged, the CECC said.
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, 639 classes in 367 schools around the country remained closed because of H1N1 infections among the students. The number of affected classes account for 0.42 percent of the total, according to the CECC.
Wang Chun-chuan, director-general of the Department of Physical Education under the Ministry of Education, said the number of class closures on Tuesday was the highest on record, which could be a sign that the H1N1 outbreak is escalating again after a lull in late September.
The Centers for Disease Control under the Department of Health (DOH) recently warned that a second wave of the H1N1 outbreak is emerging in Taiwan and is likely to peak in November, after the previous wave peaked in early September.
In an effort to contain the spread of the new flu strain, the DOH is scheduled to launch a free nationwide inoculation program Nov. 1 that targets selected groups considered at risk of developing serious complications from H1N1 infections.
As the vaccines produced by local vaccine manufacturer Adimmune Corp. are not expected to hit the market until mid-November, vaccines supplied by the Swiss-based pharmaceutical firm Novartis will be used in the first weeks of the program.
Asked by lawmakers during a meeting of the legislature's Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee about the performance of the locally produced vaccine, DOH Minister Yaung Chih-liang said the initial results of human clinical trials show that the Adimmune vaccine is not inferior to that made by Novartis.
Yaung said, however, that detailed results will only be made public after related data are reviewed by a pharmaceutical screening committee under the DOH.
According to Kang Chao-chou, chief of the DOH's Bureau of Pharmaceutical Affairs, the committee is expected to meet Thursday night to review the results, after which the conclusions will be forwarded to the CECC for its reference.
However, a complete report on the protective effect and safety of the vaccine will only be available in mid-November, he said.
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1087058&lang=eng_news