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Taiwan CDC develops Orange Card and works with the WDA to educate arriving foreign workers about Zika virus

  • Data Source:Centers for Disease Control, Ministry of Health and Welfare
  • Created:2016-07-12
  • Last Updated:2024-04-17

To ensure the safety of citizens against epidemics and to lower the risk of the Zika virus being spread to Taiwan from other countries, the Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) cooperated with the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) to develop the Zika Virus Infection Prevention Card (called the “Orange Card” for short). The Orange Card will be used as promotional information among arriving foreign workers at Taiwan’s international airports to help implement measures related to the prevention and control of the Zika virus. 

Since January 2016, three imported Zika cases have been identified in Taiwan, and all of them were with foreign workers. To efficiently provide all foreign workers with information on the prevention and control of the Zika virus, the Taiwan CDC has developed the Orange Card printed with key messages such as “mosquitoes precautions,” “practice safe sex,” and “seek medical attention promptly once symptoms developed” in four different languages, including English, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Thai. Moreover, since most foreign workers have the habit of accessing the mobile Internet using smartphones, the Orange Card contains a QR code that links to the Section for Health Education Resources for Foreign Workers on the Taiwan CDC website. There, people can browse detailed information on Zika virus prevention in different languages. 
So far, copies of the Orange Card have been distributed to the Foreign Worker Service Stations of the WDA at the Taoyuan International Airport and Kaohsiung International Airport to be given to foreign workers along with the Handbook for Foreign Workers in Taiwan and other relevant promotional materials. Furthermore, the Taiwan CDC has been inviting employers and foreign worker agencies to join the efforts to help deliver the information about the Orange Card to foreign workers for their own reference, so as to promote health education more efficiently. 
According to the World Health Organization statistics, at least 62 countries or territories worldwide, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean region, have continuously reported cases of locally acquired Zika virus infection transmitted by mosquitoes. The Taiwan CDC has issued a Level 2 alert for people travelling to 52 of the countries or territories where epidemics have occurred, including four countries in Asia: Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. 
For more information about foreign worker health management, please visit the Taiwan CDC website (http://www.cdc.gov.tw) or call the toll-free Epidemic Prevention Hotline 1922 (+886-800-001922).