Taipei, Dec. 23 (CNA) The health authorities in Taipei City said Sunday that a baby infected with measles traveled on the MRT Wenhu (Brown) Line during the Dec. 13-15 period and encouraged anyone who took the metro during that time to pay close attention to any indication of measles symptoms for up to 18 days.
The patient was identified as an 11-month infant residing in Taipei, who was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Saturday as an imported case of measles contracted in the Philippines.
In its statement the CDC said the baby boy visited the Southeast Asian nation with family from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4.
The patient developed a fever, rhinitis and fatigue on returning to Taipei and after first seeing a doctor on Dec. 14, was admitted to hospital five days later, the CDC said.
The infant, who has been discharged from hospital, was confirmed as having contracted measles on Saturday, the source of the infection being the Philippines, the agency added.
The Taipei City Department of Health said Sunday that the measles would have been communicable from Dec. 13-21.
During that period the patient had contact with 221 people, including medical care personnel, other patients at two local clinics and the hospital, and family members, all of whom have been told to keep an eye out for related symptoms and advised to seek medical care if any signs of the illness present, the city department said in a statement.
The baby also traveled from Gangqian Station to Nangang Software Park Station on the MRT Brown Line from 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Dec. 13 and 14, as well as between noon and 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 15; and from Nangang Software Park to Gangqian Station at 6:30 p.m.-7 p.m. on Dec. 13, 2 p.m.-2:30 p.m. on Dec. 14, and 1:30 p.m.-2 p.m. on Dec. 15, the statement said.
He was also at the third floor of the CTBC Financial Park close to Nangang Software Park Station at 12:30 p.m-1:30 p.m. Dec. 15, the statement added.
The health department urged people present at those locations and times to pay close attention to their health for up to 18 days after their possible exposure to the patient, and immediately visit a doctor on developing a fever, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, coughing or a rash.
Meanwhile, the CDC urged people to refrain from traveling to measles-infected areas with children under the age of one, warning the disease is highly communicable.
The incubation period for measles, from exposure to early symptoms, averages 10 to 12 days.
CDC data shows that Taiwan has recorded 37 cases of measles infection this year, including 10 imported cases, mostly imported from Southeast Asian countries.
(By Liang Pei-chi and Elizabeth Hsu)
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