News
Cancer remains leading cause of death in Taiwan
The Ministry of Health and Welfare says cancer remained the leading cause of death here in Taiwan in 2021. That continued a trend that has prevailed for the past 40 years.
Data shows that 28% of the total 184,172 deaths recorded last year were caused by cancer. The most deadly varieties were tracheal, bronchus, and lung cancer.The other most common causes of death last year were heart disease, which placed second, followed by pneumonia, diabetes, high blood pressure, accidents or unintentional injuries.The overall mortality rate in 2021 was 784.8 deaths per 100,000 people and that was a 6.9% increase from 2020. The median age at death was 77 years.
Covid-19, which caused 896 deaths in 2021, ranked as the 19th most common cause of death, the ministry said, although the rate has been much higher so far in 2022. Yesterday the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) reported 38,942 new coronavirus cases and 118 new deaths. It brings the number of coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic began here in Taiwan to 6,651.
In global Covid news, the World Health Organization says the number of coronavirus cases rose by 18% in the last week, with more than 4.1 million new cases reported globally. The UN health agency said the worldwide number of deaths remained relatively similar to the week before, at about 8,500, but increased in three regions: the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the Americas.
The WHO said in its latest weekly pandemic report that the biggest rise in new Covid-19 cases was seen in the Middle East, where they increased by 47%.The report released late Wednesday says infections rose by about 32% in Europe and Southeast Asia, and by about 14% in the Americas.
