Taiwan August Throwback: Rabies outbreak

So as mentioned in yesterday's post, I'll attempt to post something everyday to make up for the weekly posts I've been missing since August.

Actually, around the time of my last weekly post, Taiwan had a rabies outbreak. It caused a lot of public concern since the last case of rabies in Taiwan was 50 years ago.

Formosan ferret-badger (Source: Focus Taiwan)

The rabies case this August roused concern in the central and southern east regions of Taiwan:  Taichung, Taitung, Tainan, Yunlin, Nantou, and Kaoshung all had reported cases of rabies. The first case was a farmer who was bitten by a rabies-infected ferret-badger. The ferret-badger died the next day, and the man sought treatment immediately after being bitten, so he is back in good health.

However, due to the rabies outbreak it has also caused many people to abandon their pets for fear of being infected. I think that's being irrational, it is at times like this that people need to KEEP CALM. But Taiwanese are not known for keeping calming in times like this, I can only shake my head and sigh.

So other than the case of toxic starch that caused panic in May, it seems like the summer of 2013 Taiwan braved rabies too.

Taiwan's climate is very tropical and not to mention humid, so a lot of bacteria and viruses thrive in this environment. It is not surprising to me that the virus was a concern in the southern parts of Taiwan, because the south is usually hotter than Taipei. However, I am surprised by the fact that cases of rabies have re-emerged, in ferret-badgers too - not dogs as it originally refers to.

Experts have found that the virus is similar to those found in China, speculating that smuggled animals from China might be the cause. While I don't like how this is implicitly letting the readers make assumptions, I think there are also other factors - global warming. It may seem far-fetched, but you have to consider that if global warming is affecting climates around the world, then it subsequently follows that viruses will mutate and evolve accordingly. While I don't know how many of my silent lurkers and readers believe in global warming, it's the only explanation behind this jumping and re-emergence of rabies transmission among different species.