We investigated a fatal case of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis from an indoor surfing center in Taiwan. The case was detected through encephalitis syndromic surveillance. Of 56 environmental specimens, 1 was positive for Naegleria fowleri ameba.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Microbiol Immunol Infect
February 2024
We investigated a cluster of SARS-CoV-2 infections in a quarantine hotel in Taiwan in December 2021. The cluster involved 3 case patients who lived in nonadjacent rooms on different floors. They had no direct contact during their stay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Negl Trop Dis
September 2019
Background: Human granulocytic anaplasmosis, a tick-borne infection caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum, has received scant attention, while scrub typhus, a mite-transmitted disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, is the most common rickettsiosis in Taiwan. The clinical presentations of both diseases are characterized by undifferentiated fever, headache and malaise. Moreover, both pathogens have been detected in small mammals that serve as hosts for chiggers and ticks in the wild.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn respond to acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) in association with Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) infection, Taiwan Centers for Disease Control began to screen EV-D68 infection among each AFP patient since July 2015 and detected the first case in August 2016. This article updated the molecular epidemiology trends of EV-D68 from the national surveillance data.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: On 5 March 2015, Taiwan Centers for Disease Control was notified of more than 200 students with gastroenteritis at a senior high school during excursion to Kenting. We conducted an outbreak investigation to identify the causative agent and possible vehicle of the pathogen.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study by using a structured questionnaire to interview all students for consumed food items during their stay at the resort.
An unprecedented dengue outbreak involving more than 15,000 infections, including 136 dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) cases and 20 fatalities, occurred in Taiwan in 2014. The median age of the DHF cases was 71 years (range: 4-92 years) and most of them (N = 100, 73.5%) had comorbidities, of which the majority were hypertension (56%) and diabetes mellitus (DM; 27%).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Microbiol Immunol Infect
October 2013
Background/purpose(s): To explore the clinical features of different human metapneumovirus (hMPV) genotypes/genogroups in hospitalized children.
Methods: From January 2005 to April 2010, 3313 children's respiratory specimens sent for the detection of respiratory syncytial virus antigen were also tested for hMPV by real time-polymerase chain reaction. Demographics, clinical presentations, and laboratory findings of patients infected with different genotypes/genogroups of hMPV were compared.
Background: Deferasirox (DFRA) is a new approved oral iron chelator. Its advantages are that it is convenient and better tolerated and adhered to due to "once-daily" oral dosage. However, its use in the field is limited and it is yet to be subjected to postmarketing surveillance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To report a young patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) complicated by aortic dissection. The relevant literature on the association of SLE and aortic dissection is reviewed.
Methods: We describe an adolescent patient with childhood-onset SLE diagnosed aortic dissection with presentation of hemothorax.