Travel Restriction System for People With Infectious TB in Taiwan To Begin in September, Health Official Says

A new system in Taiwan that prohibits travelers with infectious tuberculosis from taking international flights longer than eight hours will be launched on Sept. 1, Chou Chih-hao, deputy director of the country's Center for Disease Control, said on Wednesday, the Taipei Times reports (Oung, Taipei Times, 8/30). Yang Shih-yang, a section chief from Taiwan's Department of Health, announced the restrictions earlier this year. Under the restrictions, people with infectious TB will be required to take medication for two weeks and produce negative test results before they can board long-distance flights, according to Yang. He added that people with multi-drug resistant TB will not be allowed to fly until they are fully recovered and that violators could face fines between 10,000 Taiwanese dollars, or about $300, and 150,000 Taiwanese dollars, or about $4,550. Yang said the health department has not set any formal restrictions on domestic flights, most of which are less than one hour in duration (GlobalHealthReporting.org, 6/26).

Once the system is launched, people with infectious TB who attempt to violate the travel restriction will be identified when they present their passports before boarding a flight, according to Chou. Health authorities said 1,100 people with TB were told earlier this week that they are subject to the travel restrictions, according to the Times. Chou said that 188 people with MDR-TB and more than 900 people with infectious TB are subject to the new restrictions. Taiwan's National Immigration Agency has a list of people with infectious TB, which will be updated daily, Chou said. People who are on the list might be able to travel if they provide a document from their doctors stating that they are not infectious, the Times reports. According to Chou, most people with TB pass the infectious phase after two weeks with the correct treatment. He said people with drug-resistant forms of TB "might have to explore surgical options" to regain their ability to travel more quickly (Taipei Times, 8/30).