Department of Cultural Affairs

 

 
The Nangang Hygiene Building was built in 1965 with US Foreign Aid money and funds from the Taiwan Provincial Government. The site was previously home to a Provincial Government Hygiene Lab, a Serum and Vaccine Manufacturing facility, and a Malaria Research Lab (precursor to the Taiwan Disease Control Center).
 
After the Second World War, in addition to the epidemic diseases, diphtheria, whooping cough, and polio that already existed in Taiwan, cholera, rabies, plague, and other diseases were brought to Taiwan from China. In response to this influx of diseases, the Serum and Vaccine Manufacturing facility was expanded.
 
Mosquito control and hygiene was poor at that time and malaria took hold throughout Taiwan. The Malaria Research Lab was established with aid from the Rockefeller Foundation, and by 1965 the WHO certified Taiwan as malaria-free, a major achievement in the history of Taiwanese public health administration. The Deputy Director of the WHO visited and officially presented Taiwan with a Malaria Eradication Certificate, making it the first country to earn the certificate.
 
Meanwhile, the Nangang Hygiene Building came into operation. In 1988 the Serum and Vaccine Manufacturing facility was merged with the Provincial Epidemic Research Lab and renamed the Preventive Medicine Research Lab, part of the Department of Health.
 
During the enterovirus epidemic of 1988, the Epidemic Prevention Department was responsible for epidemic control throughout the country. The Preventive Medicine Research Lab was responsible for all technical issues, carrying out quarantine measures, and the production of serum and vaccines. The Quarantine Clinic was responsible for quarantine at all ports and airports.
 
To cope with uncertainties and increased dangers around epidemics, the preventive medical resources were integrated. The three departments were merged into the Disease Control Agency on July 1, 1999, and the Hygiene Building became the Kunyang Headquarters of the Disease Control Agency.