Suspected Hantavirus Case in Keelung; Mayor Hsieh Pledges to Continue City-wide Disinfection

(CNA, Keelung City, May 19, Reporter Pan Hsin-tung) The Keelung City Government held a press conference this morning regarding a suspected case of hantavirus. Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang stated that he was notified of the suspected case yesterday afternoon. The patient is reportedly recovering well, and the city is continuing to enhance city-wide cleaning and disinfection. He urged the public to report any rat sightings immediately. According to Keelung City Health Bureau Director Chang Hsien-cheng, the case involves a man in his 40s who works in Keelung but resides in another county. He was bitten by a rat on April 7 and developed mild symptoms, including fever and loss of appetite, on May 2. A hospital in his residential county reported and tested the case between May 7 and 8, with preliminary results released yesterday. Chang said that the patient's workplace immediately captured the rat and disinfected the area after the bite. After receiving the report, the disinfection scope was expanded to the surrounding area, and Health Bureau personnel re-inspected the work environment yesterday. Detailed epidemiological data will be released by the central government. Chang emphasized that hantavirus is generally not transmitted from person to person, and the approximately one-month interval between the bite and onset of symptoms is consistent with the typical progression of the virus. The timely detection was due to the high vigilance of the hospital where the patient sought treatment. Currently, no related symptoms have been found among the patient's work and residential contacts, and monitoring will continue. He urged the public not to panic. Keelung City Environmental Protection Bureau Director Ma Chung-hao noted that since March, the city has comprehensively strengthened the cleaning of main roads to effectively control the rat infestation by reducing their food sources. To date, over 500 kilometers have been cleaned, and over 600 tons of waste have been removed. Future efforts will focus on physical control, supplemented by chemical control, to continuously intensify disinfection and rodent control.