CDC book highlights Taiwan’s role in preventing regional and global epidemics

2018/01/25

A recently released book exploring Taiwan’s disease prevention and quarantine control policies over the past 120 years aims to foster broader awareness of the country’s crucial role in preventing regional and global epidemics, according to publisher the Centers for Disease Control under the Ministry of Health and Welfare Jan. 23.
 
 Titled “Power of Perseverance: 120 Years of Quarantine in Taiwan (1896-2016),” the Chinese-language publication sheds light on efforts to avert, stem and eliminate outbreaks of serious and highly contagious illnesses such as polio, rabies, typhoid and severe acute respiratory syndrome. It is on sale in local bookstores and available to download for free from the CDC website.
 
 Spanning 255 pages, the book comprises four sections introducing disease control procedures across different periods in Taiwan’s history—Japanese colonial rule (1895-1945); the era following the end of World War II until the launch in 1989 of the National Quarantine Service under the Department of Health, the forerunner to the MOHW; the subsequent decade of operations under the NQS; and the time from the establishment of the CDC in 1999 until 2016.
 
 The publication examines the impacts of wars and political changes on public health policymaking throughout these periods and chronicles the quarantine facilities and vaccination programs launched in each time frame. Recent efforts spotlighted in the book include border quarantine processes to address the 2003 outbreak of SARS in Taiwan, as well as the spread of Ebola, Middle East respiratory syndrome and Zika in the international community.
 
 The final section also explores Taiwan’s implementation of international health and disease prevention standards to meet the public health challenges posed by globalization and mass immigration. In particular, the book highlights the CDC’s enactment of the core capacity requirements under the World Health Organization’s 2005 International Health Regulations.
 
 Carried out at the nation’s ports and international gateways, these include procedures to monitor and track symptomatic inbound travelers as well as inspect and certify vessels that comply with standard hygiene regulations so as to reduce risks from disease vectors—organisms that carry or transmit infectious pathogens.
 
 According to the CDC, these efforts led to the identification and quarantine of 154 dengue fever, eight chikungunya and two Zika virus patients in 2017, protecting the country and the international community. Taiwan will continue to diligently enact strict border quarantine measures that prevent diseases from spreading through the global transportation network, the CDC said.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=10&post=128385)