Taipei, April 17 (CNA) The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported Tuesday a confirmed imported typhoid case and urged the public to pay attention to food sanitation when traveling to areas where typhoid is endemic.
The patient, a 20-year-old woman living in northern Taiwan, made a business trip to New Delhi March 8-27, during which she developed symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea and fever after eating raw seafood, said Kuo Hung-wei, deputy head of the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Center.
The woman sought medical attention after returning to Taiwan. She was admitted to hospital April 7 and it was confirmed April 13 that she had been infected with typhoid.
Tests on her companion on the trip, also suspected of having been infected, are underway, according to Kuo.
As of Tuesday, there had been five confirmed typhoid cases recorded this year, including two indigenous cases and three imported instances -- two originating in India and one in the Philippines, according to CDC statistics.
For the same period over the past three years, the numbers of confirmed typhoid cases were 12, one and seven, while the imported cases were eight, zero and six, respectively, with most of the imported cases originating in Indonesia.
Typhoid is a bacterial infection of the intestinal tract and is transmitted through the ingestion of contaminated food or water. Symptoms can include sustained fever, headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea, loss of appetite, depressed heart rate, rash, coughing and constipation, said Su Chia-pin, a doctor at the CDC.
Su advised the public to refrain from eating raw food and uncooked food and water in areas where typhoid is endemic and to wash their hands thoroughly before eating and consider getting vaccinated for typhoid if they plan to travel frequently to these areas.
