Bullet train passengers warned of possible measles exposure

Kaohsiung, Jan. 6 (CNA) High-speed rail passengers who traveled between Kaohsiung and Taichung late last month in the same train cars with a man diagnosed with measles should contact Kaohsiung's Department of Health, the agency said Monday.

In a statement, the department said the Centers for Disease Controls (CDC) confirmed on Jan. 3 that the individual who traveled on the high-speed rail in late December had been infected with the measles.

The man traveled from Zuoying to Taichung on Dec. 28 in Car 2 of train No. 160 and went from Taichung to Kaohsiung on Dec. 31 in Car 4 of train No. 153, the statement said.

The department urged those who traveled in the same cars as the man to contact it at 07-723-0250 or call the CDC toll-free hotline 1922 as quickly as possible given that measles is highly contagious four days before or after its onset.

People who have not been vaccinated or are not immune could be infected with the measles virus within two hours if they were in an enclosed space with a patient, no matter how long or short the exposure, the department said.

After an exposure to an infected person, symptoms including a fever, cough, and runny nose, or conjunctivitis and rhinitis, develop 10-12 days later following an incubation period of 7-18 days.

Meanwhile, the Taichung man will be fined between NT$60,000 (US$1,831) and NT$300,000 for failing to abide by "self-health management" rules during the infectious period (Dec. 28 to Jan. 2), violating Article 48 of the Communicable Disease Control Act, the health bureau said.

He violated the act by traveling between the two cities after being identified on Dec. 28 as having come in contact with a measles patient when he visited a hospital in central Taiwan on Dec. 20 and 21.

A day after returning to Taichung on Dec. 28, he developed measles-like symptoms and was checked by a doctor at a Taichung clinic before heading back to Kaohsiung on the high-speed rail on New Year's Eve, it said.

After developing a rash on New Year's Day while still in Kaohsiung, he went to see a doctor on Jan. 2, and was immediately placed in an isolation ward as the doctor reported the case to the infectious disease system, the department said.

Around 185 contacts in Kaohsiung have been identified, all of whom have undergone health assessments, and they will remain under health monitoring until Jan. 20, the department said.

On Saturday, the Taichung Health Bureau also announced that it has identified 20 contacts of the man and will continue to trace and identify additional contacts at the locations visited by the patient.

Taiwan had recorded 29 cases of measles in 2024 as of Dec. 30, consisting of 19 domestic cases and 10 imported cases, the CDC said at a regular news conference on Dec. 31.