By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
A case of melioidosis was reported last week, marking the 19th local case so far this year — the highest for the period in four years, while rumors that a “national team for hantavirus prevention” has been established are untrue, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said that a man in his 50s, a resident in northern Taiwan who has underlying conditions and had not travel to other countries recently, tested positive for melioidosis. The man began having symptoms in early March and they continued to worsen even after he sought treatment, Lee said.
Centers for Disease Control physician Lin Yung-ching speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: CNA
He was hospitalized in the middle of March and was discharged from hospital late last month, she said, adding that later tests confirmed that he had the disease. CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said the man has diabetes, but had poor management of his blood sugar levels.
He reported lumbar and abdominal pain, which were not relieved after taking medicine prescribed by a clinic, Lin said. He later experienced persistent fever and general weakness, and sought treatment for difficulty breathing at an emergency department, with testing showing a high white blood cell count and a splenic abscess, Lin said, adding that he was treated with antibiotics and hospitalized for about a month. Contact tracing showed that the man’s home and areas he frequented had not been flooded or affected by typhoons recently, nor did he have direct contact with mud or floodwaters, or animals linked to transmission of the disease, so the source of his infection remains unclear, Lin said. The poor management of his diabetes might have caused reduced immunity, and increased susceptibility to infection and severe complications, Lin added. Burkholderia pseudomallei, the bacteria that causes melioidosis, is found in contaminated soil and water, and it can be transmitted to people through direct exposure via open wounds, intake of contaminated water, or breathing in aerosolized bacteria from contaminated soil or water, he said. The case was the 19th local case of melioidosis reported so far this year, higher than the 13 cases in the same period last year, and one to five cases in the period from 2022 to 2024, Lee said, adding that people aged 65 or older accounted for 52.6 percent of the cases so far this year. Meanwhile, CDC Deputy Director-General and spokeswoman Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) said that an online rumor claiming that Taiwan has established a “national team for hantavirus prevention” which is investing in the development of vaccines and rapid test kits is untrue. The rumor also indicated that specific concept stocks are expected to rise, while advising people to inquire through private messages, Tseng said. The CDC immediately reported the information to the Ministry of Digital Affairs and the Financial Supervisory Commission, which deemed it to be a scam and informed social media platforms to remove posts sharing the false information, she said. The Taiwan FactCheck Center has also contacted the CDC and the National Health Research Institutes to confirm that no such national team has been established, nor are there vaccines or test kits being developed, she said. The Chinese character used for “hantavirus” in the online posts is different than what is typically used in Taiwan, but it is commonly used in China, including Hong Kong, indicating that the accounts that introduced the rumor in Taiwan are mostly from abroad, the CDC said, adding that it might be a targeted operation. The public should be wary of claims of “insider information” online, it said, adding that people can use the ministry’s Online Fraud Reporting and Inquiry Web site (https://fraudbuster.digiat.org.tw/accessibility/) to check suspicious information.