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Taiwan
May 26:
Taiwan, reporting 62 probable cases over the past two days, continues
to have the most rapidly growing outbreak. With a cumulative total of
585 probable cases, Taiwan now has more than twice the caseload of Singapore
(206 probable cases), which was among the most severely affected initial
outbreak sites.
May 22:
Taiwan authorities have today reported a record 60 new probable cases
of SARS and 8 deaths, bringing the cumulative totals to 483 cases and
60 deaths. However, the large daily increases in new cases seen over
the past week are due to a backlog in the investigation of pending cases
and determination of which fit the case definition for probable SARS.
While the daily numbers of new cases indicate the size of the SARS outbreak
in Taiwan, which is worrisome, they do not suggest an explosive escalation
in the number of cases, as both older and new cases are being reported
together on a daily basis. At present, the daily increases reflect a
change in the way records have been kept, with cases in a "pending"
category now being classified as either suspect or probable cases. As
the backlog of pending cases is now being rapidly cleared, the daily
reports should begin within days to give a more accurate picture of
the evolution of the outbreak in Taiwan.
Since detection of its first suspect cases, Taiwan has promptly reported
on the outbreak to WHO. The first two cases, who were hospitalized on
8 March, occurred in a man with a recent travel history to Guangdong
Province and Hong Kong, and his wife, who had no recent travel history.
The cases were officially recognized as suspect SARS cases on 14 March,
two days after WHO issued a global alert about the emergence of a new
disease with severe respiratory symptoms. A team from the US Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, organized by WHO's Global Outbreak
Alert and Response Network, arrived in Taiwan on 16 March.
Taiwan initially experienced a gradual increase in the number of cases.
As of 18 April, 29 cases had been reported. All were identified, through
contact tracing and investigation of travel history, as either imported
cases, cases in persons with a recent travel history to areas with local
transmission, and family members and other close contacts of patients.
The number of cases began to climb at the end of April, when local transmission
in hospitals became the source of the majority of new infections. The
number of probable cases reached 100 on 2 May, grew to 207 on 13 May,
and now stands at 483.
Taiwan has now received supplementary protective equipment shipped urgently
from Thailand yesterday. The problem of infection control in hospitals
is being addressed as a top priority. Procedures were set up today to
ensure rapid and efficient distribution of the new equipment.
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