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Updated Tuesday, May 26, 2009 9:28 am TWN, The China Post news staff

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First indigenous swine flu case confirmed

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Three more cases of swine flu, including the first-ever domestic infection, were confirmed in Taiwan yesterday, forcing the health authorities to raise the epidemic alert to the third stage or yellow level from level two.

The first case of domestic infection, which is the country's seventh confirmed case, involves a 40-year-old woman who is a friend of the fourth confirmed swine flu patient in Taiwan and who had contact with the victim, said spokesman Shih Wen-yi at the Central Epidemics Command Center (CECC).

With the appearance of a domestic infection for the first time, the outbreak warning against Type A (H1N1) influenza was upgraded to the third level, suggesting that imported cases could pose the threat of causing a second wave of infections in the community.

Shih said the upgrade to yellow alert will help raise public awareness for precautions, but actual anti-epidemic and preventive measures will remain about the same.

He said there is no need to panic because the situation has so far not developed into the "community outbreak" yet.

Also yesterday, two more imported cases were also confirmed, bringing the total number of infected patients in Taiwan to nine, Shih added.

The two newly confirmed imported cases involved two students who both returned from San Francisco on May 23 via EVA Airways flight BR007, according to Shih.

Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan said the flu outbreak is expected to stabilize soon in Taiwan, and the government is now preparing to prevent an epidemic in the autumn/winter seasons this year.

He made the remarks during a briefing to the Legislative Yuan's Committee of Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene.

Yeh said he anticipates that the A(H1N1) outbreak in Taiwan will be brought under control by the end of June as the weather turns warmer.

But he forecast a second wave of outbreaks in autumn and winter this year, adding that the government is taking contingency action. It has ordered six tons of Shikimic Acid,

a key ingredient in Tamiflu, the primary medication in the treatment of the deadly flu strain, he said.

With the raw ingredients, Taiwan would be able to produce one ton of Tamiflu for use by 1 million people, Yeh said, noting that the government will also procure 10 million doses of vaccine against the flu.

The government will purchase 2.5 million doses of swine flu vaccine from foreign pharmaceutical manufacturers and will contract local companies to produce the other 7.5 million doses, he said. The vaccination program can get underway in October, if necessary, the minister said.

In addition, the government has purchased 5 million doses of vaccine against seasonal flu -- far more than the 3.2 million doses it bought last year -- for use this autumn and winter, Yeh said.

In view of the increase in the confirmed flu cases, Yeh told the lawmakers that he has decided to abandon a plan to accompany President Ma Ying-jeou and delegates on an overseas journey to visit several allies, including Belize, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Yeh said he will personally coordinate government agencies, medical experts and all medical organizations in an effort to jointly contain the outbreak of flu cases.

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