April 7, 2013
No. 20
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) stated today (April 7, 2013) that the Department of Health (DOH) upgraded the status of human-borne H7N9 influenza to a Category V Notifiable Infectious Disease, and also established a Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on April 3 to respond to the spread of the H7N9 epidemic in mainland China.
The MAC stated that the CECC has already convened two meetings on April 3 and 6, respectively, and that relevant government agencies have began working with the Center to enact related response measures. The MAC has entrusted the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) to strengthen promotion of health education through the Taiwan Businesspeople Information Web and Taiwanese Businessmen's Association, as well as to assist with the collection of information on the Mainland epidemic.
The MAC further indicated that the CECC dispatched two disease control experts to Shanghai on April 6 to thoroughly understand local strategies and efforts in controlling the disease. The CECC has also continued to strengthen collection of information on the epidemic’s developments among animals and humans in the Mainland and relevant control measures, while at the same time, also promote prevention measures to the public.
The MAC stated that the DOH's Center for Disease Control has reinforced quarantine and disease control measures for visitors and nationals arriving from the Jiangsu, Anhui, Shanghai, and Zhejiang areas of the Mainland. The Center has also advised clinical physicians to remain vigilant and report all cases meeting the H7N9 influenza case definition to health authorities. In addition, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications has provided airlines with a reference statement on relevant health education for in-flight broadcast. Agricultural policy units have continued to gather information on the Mainland’s epidemic developments among animals, while related authorities have also continued implementing response measures.
The MAC stressed that, due to close interactions between the people on both sides, the MAC will continue to closely track Mainland epidemic developments in conjunction with CECC operations and duly adopt necessary disease control measures. The MAC also reminded Taiwanese people visiting the Jiangsu, Anhui, Shanghai, or Zhejiang areas of mainland China, and Mainlanders arriving from the above areas to strengthen self-care.