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Taiwan records new H1N1 clusters at hospital and schools
Taiwan News, Staff Writer
2009-08-05 05:49 PM
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) ? A hospital and four more schools were confirmed with clusters of A (H1N1) swine flu virus infections, the Centers for Disease Control announced Wednesday.
Employees of the hospital?s research department contracted the virus during a conference outside its premises, said CDC Vice Chairman Lin Ting, excluding the likelihood of an outbreak inside the medical facility. The patients were not nurses or doctors who came into daily contact with patients and visitors, he said.
The outbreak was the first incident at a hospital, according to Lin. Taiwan has recorded up to 20 cluster infections over the past week, mostly at schools, but the government has still not agreed on a nationwide approach to handle the outbreaks. Separately, one severe virus patient, a 39-year-old man with a history of liver problems, became Taiwan?s first fatality from the virus last Thursday.
The four other new clusters announced Wednesday took place at secondary schools, affecting up to 90 students, the CDC said.
The private Mingtao High School in Wurih, Taichung County, announced it was suspending classes for seven days after five students tested positive for the flu virus. The school buildings will be disinfected during that period.
The county health authorities said the students initially all showed symptoms of the virus, such as coughing, headaches, vomiting and throat aches. They were being treated at a county hospital and were likely to make a quick recovery, officials said.
There was no obvious explanation of how and where the students were infected, since they had not traveled overseas recently, the health authorities said.
The swine flu virus was now expanding in Taiwan at the rate of 4,340 infections a week, or three times faster than the 1,400 a week one month earlier, the CDC?s Lin said. He did not exclude a rise to 6,000 or even 8,000 a week, calling on the public not to underestimate the strength of the virus.
Lin said the rapid rise in the number of patients might temper the expected spread of the virus in September, after schools reopen and when the summer runs to an end. People suffering from A (H1N1) now would not be infected again later, though they could still fall victim to more common and less severe flu strains, Lin said.
Taiwan records new H1N1 clusters at hospital and schools
Taiwan News, Staff Writer
2009-08-05 05:49 PM
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) ? A hospital and four more schools were confirmed with clusters of A (H1N1) swine flu virus infections, the Centers for Disease Control announced Wednesday.
Employees of the hospital?s research department contracted the virus during a conference outside its premises, said CDC Vice Chairman Lin Ting, excluding the likelihood of an outbreak inside the medical facility. The patients were not nurses or doctors who came into daily contact with patients and visitors, he said.
The outbreak was the first incident at a hospital, according to Lin. Taiwan has recorded up to 20 cluster infections over the past week, mostly at schools, but the government has still not agreed on a nationwide approach to handle the outbreaks. Separately, one severe virus patient, a 39-year-old man with a history of liver problems, became Taiwan?s first fatality from the virus last Thursday.
The four other new clusters announced Wednesday took place at secondary schools, affecting up to 90 students, the CDC said.
The private Mingtao High School in Wurih, Taichung County, announced it was suspending classes for seven days after five students tested positive for the flu virus. The school buildings will be disinfected during that period.
The county health authorities said the students initially all showed symptoms of the virus, such as coughing, headaches, vomiting and throat aches. They were being treated at a county hospital and were likely to make a quick recovery, officials said.
There was no obvious explanation of how and where the students were infected, since they had not traveled overseas recently, the health authorities said.
The swine flu virus was now expanding in Taiwan at the rate of 4,340 infections a week, or three times faster than the 1,400 a week one month earlier, the CDC?s Lin said. He did not exclude a rise to 6,000 or even 8,000 a week, calling on the public not to underestimate the strength of the virus.
Lin said the rapid rise in the number of patients might temper the expected spread of the virus in September, after schools reopen and when the summer runs to an end. People suffering from A (H1N1) now would not be infected again later, though they could still fall victim to more common and less severe flu strains, Lin said.