Acceptability of rapid oral fluid HIV testing among male injection drug users in Taiwan, 1997 and 2007.

Rapid oral fluid HIV testing (rapid oral testing) is in the process of being adapted in Taiwan and elsewhere given its advantages over prior HIV testing methods. To guide this process, we examined the acceptability of rapid oral testing at two time points (i.e.

Prevalence and determinants of hepatitis B antigenemia in 15,007 inmates in Taiwan.

Background: The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors for horizontal transmission of hepatitis B infection due to intravenous drug abuse (IVDA), tattooing, blood transfusion, and combinations of these risk factors.

Methods: All people detained in 19 prisons were invited to participate. Subjects underwent a physical examination and completed a questionnaire.

Cost-effectiveness of highly active antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection in Taiwan.

Background/purpose: Since the late 1980s, the Taiwanese government has provided all HIV-infected citizens with free access to antiretroviral therapy. Recently, there is controversy as to whether or not free access to expensive highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) should be continued for HIV-infected patients. This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of HAART therapy.

SARS in Taiwan: an overview and lessons learned.

Objectives: This report aims to describe the epidemiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Taiwan between March and July 2003, and to examine the public health response.

Methods: Surveillance for SARS was initiated on 14 March 2003. Response activities are described for the isolation of patients; contact tracing; quarantine of contact persons; fever screening for inbound and outbound passengers at the airport; and hospital infection control as assessed by mobile SARS containment teams.

Waning immunity to plasma-derived hepatitis B vaccine and the need for boosters 15 years after neonatal vaccination.

Neonatal immunization with hepatitis B (HB) vaccine is highly effective; however, more needs to be learned about the duration of protection and indications for boosters. We measured antibody to HB core antigen (anti-HBc), HB surface antigen (HBsAg), and pre- and postbooster titers of HBsAg antibody (anti-HBs) 15 years after primary neonatal immunization with plasma-derived HB vaccines in 2 cohorts of 15-year-old children. Group A consisted of 78 children who were born to HB e antigen-positive HBsAg carrier mothers and had developed protective levels of anti-HBs antibodies (> or =10 mIU/mL) following HB immunization.

Decreased HIV transmission after a policy of providing free access to highly active antiretroviral therapy in Taiwan.

Background: Taiwan established a nationwide surveillance system for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in 1989 and adopted a policy to provide all HIV-infected citizens with free access to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) beginning in April 1997. This provided an opportunity to determine the effect of the widespread use of HAART on the evolution of the HIV epidemic.

Methods: We analyzed national HIV surveillance data.

Update and projection on HIV/AIDS in Taiwan.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Taiwan started in 1986, with 5,221 cases of HIV infections, 1,596 cases of AIDS, and 911 deaths reported through 2003. National surveillance data indicate that men who have sex with men accounted for 48.2% of HIV infections, followed by heterosexual men (33.

The public health response to the Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan, 1999.

Objective: On September 21, 1999, at 1:47 a.m., an earthquake measuring 7.

Control measures for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Taiwan.

As of April 14, 2003, Taiwan had had 23 probable cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), 19 of which were imported. Taiwan isolated all 23 patients in negative-pressure rooms; extensive personal protective equipment was used for healthcare workers and visitors. For the first 6 weeks of the SARS outbreak, recognized spread was limited to one healthcare worker and three household contacts.

Enterovirus 71 outbreaks, Taiwan: occurrence and recognition.

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) caused a large outbreak in Taiwan in 1998 with 78 deaths, and smaller outbreaks recurred in 2000 and 2001. The outbreak was recognized because of a large number of hand, foot, and mouth disease cases and the rapid deaths of children with the disease. Virologic and pathologic studies indicated that EV71 was the most important agent related to severe and fatal cases and that a neurogenic inflammatory response was involved in the pathogenesis of cardiopulmonary collapse resulting from fulminant EV71 infection.

Outbreak of beriberi among illegal mainland Chinese immigrants at a detention center in Taiwan.

Objective: The authors describe an outbreak of beriberi in a detention center in Taiwan and examine risk factors for illness.

Methods: A survey was conducted among a sample of 176 randomly selected detainees. A menu-assisted dietary recall method was used to obtain diet information from nine hospitalized detainees.

Outbreak of Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis associated with mebendazole and metronidazole use among Filipino laborers in Taiwan.

Objectives: This study sought to identify the risk factors associated with an outbreak of Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) among Filipino laborers in Taiwan.

Methods: Forty-six SJS/TEN patients were matched to 92 controls according to month of arrival in Taiwan, sex, and age.

Results: The odds ratio for development of SJS/TEN was 9.

Incidence and case-fatality rates resulting from the 1998 enterovirus 71 outbreak in Taiwan.

In 1998, an epidemic of hand-foot-and-mouth disease and herpangina caused by enterovirus 71 occurred in Taiwan, leaving many fatalities and severely handicapped survivors in its wake. The reasons this rather common pathogen would cause such a large-scale epidemic remain unknown. A seroepidemiological survey to elucidate the epidemiological characteristics of this outbreak, including its incidence and case-fatality rates was undertaken.