Taiwan Confirms Third Hantavirus Case This Year After Man Bitten by Rat During Work—Has Since Recovered
A 40-year-old worker in Taiwan's third confirmed hantavirus case this year was bitten by a rat at work but has recovered; all three cases involve the Seoul strain, which cannot spread between humans.
Taiwan has confirmed its third hantavirus case of the year after a 40-year-old man was bitten by a rat at work and developed a fever, from which he has since recovered. All three hantavirus patients in Taiwan contracted the Seoul strain of the virus, which does not transmit between humans and differs from the strain connected to the serious outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondiusz operated by Oceanwide Expeditions in the Netherlands. The three confirmed cases include a man in his 70s from the Daan District in Taipei who died in January, a man in his 70s from New Taipei City who tested positive for hantavirus in March and has since been discharged, and the latest case—a 40-year-old man from Jilong in the northeast who tested positive after being bitten by a rat at work and has recovered. Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control recommends that the public follow three prevention rules to reduce infection risk: do not allow rats to enter homes, do not allow rats to inhabit spaces, and do not allow rats to access food.
