In the late night of October 16, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control received a report of a 55-year-old Nigerian male who boarded a plane from the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to China. Upon his arrival in Ningbo, he was detected with a fever through the fever screening procedure and was admitted to a hospital for further examination and laboratory testing. As of now, the Chinese authorities confirmed the case is still hospitalized for further observation even though his fever has subsided. At the time of writing, specimens were being collected from the case for laboratory testing. According to the initial assessment conducted by the Chinese authorities, the likelihood of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the case is low.

The plane was disinfected according to the relevant regulations after its arrival in Ningbo and returned to Taiwan last night. A total of 13 flight crews, including 2 pilots were on the plane. Only two flight attendants interacted with the passenger while serving food to and collecting the meal tray from the passenger. Since neither of the two flight attendants had any physical contact with the passenger and the passenger did not vomit while onboard the plane, it is deemed unlikely the two flight attendants have become infected by the passenger according to the preliminary assessment. Nevertheless, for precautionary purposes, the two flight attendants have been suspended from duty with pay and were asked to monitor their own health for 21 days. Besides one companion traveling with the case and four other passengers who sat adjacent to the case are still being evaluated for the risk of EVD, the other 94 passengers have granted entry into China.    

According to the initial epidemiological investigation conducted by Taiwan CDC, on October 6, the case boarded a plane from Lagos, Nigeria to Brussels, Belgium by way of Dubai. On October 13, he boarded another plane to Dubai from Brussels. On October 14, he arrived in Taiwan. On October 16, he boarded another plane to Ningbo, China from the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Taiwan CDC has requested the Chinese authority to assist in inquiring the case’s travel history during his stay in Taiwan and notify Taiwan CDC of the laboratory test results as soon as possible.

On October 15, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a cumulative total of 20 cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD), including 8 deaths, were reported in Lagos and Port Harcourt, Nigeria. In addition, no new cases have been reported in Lagos since August 18, while no new cases have been reported in Port Harcourt since August 31. On October 14, WHO announced that of the countries with localized transmission, Nigeria is now approaching 42 days since the date of last potential contact with a probable or confirmed case. If there are no further cases, Nigeria could be declared Ebola-free on October 20.

Taiwan CDC recommends the public to avoid all nonessential travel to Ebola-affected areas in West Africa, including Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Travelers are urged to monitor their own health for 21 days after their return to Taiwan. If symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea or rash develop, please call the toll-free hotline 1922(or 0800-001922), follow Taiwan CDC’s personnel’s recommendation closely in seeking medical attention and voluntarily inform the doctor of any recent travel and exposure history to facilitate diagnosis and treatment. On the other hand, physicians are advised to stay vigilant for suspected cases, inquire about such patients’ travel history, and notify the health authority immediately of any suspected cases to facilitate implementation of subsequent measures such as case reporting, specimen collection, isolation of patients, and placing contacts in quarantine in order to prevent further transmission of the disease. For more information, please visit the Taiwan CDC’s website at: www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline, 1922 (or 0800-001922).