Chinese H7N9 patient released from quarantine in Taiwan
ROC Central News Agency
2014/01/19 21:47:17
Taipei, Jan. 19 (CNA) An 86-year-old man from China, who was confirmed in Taiwan last December to be infected with the H7N9 virus, has been released from quarantine at a hospital in Taipei, an official of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Sunday.
Since his mandatory quarantine began in late December, the patient from Changzhou in Jiangsu Province has been tested every day for virus levels, Deputy Director-General Chou Jih-haw said.
Over the past few days, the H7N9 virus level in the patient has been zero, he said
The patient can now be transferred to another ward or hospital once the physician in charge of the case gives the all clear, Chou added.
The man arrived in Taiwan as part of a tour group on Dec. 17, according to the CDC. He fell ill two days later but was not taken to hospital until Dec. 24, the same day the rest of the group returned to China.
The elderly man was immediately admitted to an intensive care unit at a hospital in downtown Taipei and put on a ventilator after he was diagnosed with pneumonia, Chou said.
On Dec. 27, the physician in charge of the case reported that it was a suspected case of H7N9 avian influenza and that relevant testing had begun.
The test results on Dec. 31 showed that the patient had the H7N9 virus, and he was quarantined, Chou said.
It was the second confirmed case of imported H7N9 bird flu in Taiwan over the past year. The first was a Taiwanese businessman who fell ill after returning from a trip to Jiangsu province in April 2013. He made a full recovery after a month of intensive treatment.
Since Oct. 1 last year, mainland China and Hong Kong have reported 65 confirmed human cases of H7N9, seven of which were fatal, the CDC said.
Twenty-six cases were reported in Zhejiang Province, 22 in Guangdong Province, seven in Fujian Province, five in Shanghai, two in Jiangsu Province, and three in Hong Kong that were imported from Guangdong.
Commenting on the three new confirmed cases imported from Guandong a day earlier, Chou said Sunday that there is no evidence to exclude human-to-human transmission.
Two of the confirmed cases involved a father, who was selling tofu at a local market, and his five-year-old daughter, according to Chou.
Pending investigation, it is uncertain whether the girl contracted the virus from her father or from live poultry at the market, Chou said.
(By Lung Rui-yun and Elizabeth Hsu)
Enditem /pc
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