TAIWAN SCREENS CERTAIN AIR PASSENGERS FOR AVIAN FLU

UNCLAS TAIPEI 004128 SIPDIS STATE PLEASE PASS TO AIT/W, EAP/RSP/TC AND OES/IHA HHS PLEASE PASS TO ERIKA ELVANDER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AMED AMGT CASC ECON SENV SOCI TBIO TW WHO SUBJECT: TAIWAN SCREENS CERTAIN AIR PASSENGERS FOR AVIAN FLU REF: A. STATE 151549 ¶B. TAIPEI 58 ¶1. In response to an alert issued by the World Health Organization (WHO),the Taiwan Center for Disease Control (TCDC) announced on October 6 new screening requirements for Avian Influenza. Beginning October 10, all passengers on flights from Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia will be asked to monitor their body temperature for the first ten days upon arrival in Taiwan. Visitors will be asked to take their temperature twice a day and record it on a form provided at the airport. TCDC is asking that any passenger that experiences a fever over 38 degrees centigrade within ten days of arriving in Taiwan should wear a mask and see a doctor immediately. Any inbound passenger from these four countries arriving at a Taiwan airport with a fever over 38 degrees centigrade will be interviewed by quarantine personnel and asked to complete a "Communicable Disease Survey Form." ¶2. Any passenger that fails to inform the health authorities and transmits Avian Influenza to others will be subject to a fine between NT$ 3,000 (US$90) and NT$ 15,000 (US$450). PAAL