The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) today said it has listed 54 contacts for health monitoring after a Japanese man tested positive for measles upon returning to Nagoya on a Starlux Airlines flight from Taipei.
CDC spokeswoman Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told reporters that the patient, a Japanese national in his 30s, flew from Taipei to Nagoya on Friday last week.
The CDC launched an investigation after Starlux proactively relayed the information from Japanese health authorities.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
The agency has identified 54 contacts from the flight, comprising 15 crew members and 39 passengers seated near the man.
The passenger contacts include 34 Taiwanese and five Japanese nationals, Tseng said.
Immigration records show that 21 of the 34 Taiwanese have already returned to Taiwan, while the remaining 13 have not yet re-entered the country or may have traveled to other destinations, she said.
Although all airline crew members are vaccinated against measles, the vaccines do not provide 100 percent immunity, Tseng said.
Therefore, the crew members have been asked to practice self-health management for 18 days, she said.
None of the crew members have shown any suspected symptoms so far, and would be monitored until May 5, she added.
As for the 21 Taiwanese contacts who have returned, the CDC said it has forwarded their information to the health departments of 11 cities and counties — Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli County, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Yunlin County and Kaohsiung — for tracking and health education.
They would also be monitored until May 5, it added.
The CDC on Wednesday contacted its Japanese counterpart through the International Health Regulations framework to request the patient’s case details and his travel history within Taiwan, Tseng said, adding that Japan has acknowledged the request and is currently gathering the information.