To implement patient classification and integrate health care services, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) for Dengue Outbreak will the World Health Organization’s classification for dengue cases to classify patients into Group A, B and C to deal with the surge of patients in some hospitals beginning September 17, 2015. In addition, six medical centers will form a medical care advisory committee to advise the hospitals in Tainan City about the appropriate administration of health and medical care services in order to classify, diagnose and treat patients accordingly. In addition, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) sent four medical officers to station at 4 Dengue Treatment Centers to assist in the diagnosis of dengue patients and offer recommendations. The National Health Insurance Administration will be in charge of claiming the expenses of dengue NS1 antigen test, which will be subsidized by Taiwan CDC’s budget.

Taiwan CDC announced a total of additional 522 indigenous dengue cases were confirmed yesterday (September 15), including 437 cases in Tainan City, 78 cases in Kaohsiung City, 3 cases in Taipei City, and 1 case each in Hsinchu County, Hsinchu City, Taichung City and Yunlin County. Among the newly confirmed cases, prior to disease onset, the cases confirmed in Taipei City had visited Tainan City and Kaohsiung City, while the cases confirmed in Hsinchu County and Taichung City had respectively visited Kaohsiung City and Tainan City. The case confirmed in Yunlin County is still being investigated. Currently, 38 cases are receiving treatment in the intensive care unit, including 32 cases in Tainan City and 6 cases in Kaohsiung City. 2 new deaths that might be associated with dengue infection were reported. Thus far, a cumulative total of 18 deaths were found to be linked with dengue infection. 36 deaths, including 33 from Tainan City, 2 from Kaohsiung City, and 1 from Pingtung County, are still waiting to be reviewed.

During September 8 and 14, 2015, a total of 3,536 new dengue cases, including 3,550 indigenous cases and 13 imported cases, were confirmed in Taiwan. Among the indigenous cases, 3,080 reside in Tainan City, 395 reside in Kaohsiung City, 20 cases reside in Pingtung County, and sporadic cases reside in Taoyuan City, Taichung City, Taipei City, Hsinchu City, Changhua County, New Taipei City, Chiayi County, Chiayi City, Kinmen County, Yilan County, Miaoli County, Hsinchu County, Penghu County, Taitung County and Nantou County. Since this summer, a cumulative total of 10,384 indigenous dengue cases have been confirmed, including 9,103 cases in Tainan City, 1,108 cases in Kaohsiung City, 40 cases in Pingtung County, and 133 sporadic cases in 18 other cities and counties. 98.7% of the total cases were confirmed in southern Taiwan, Of the cases, 7,592 have recovered from the disease. On the other hand, a cumulative total of 200 imported cases have been confirmed and the majority of them were from countries in Southeast Asia such as Indonesia.

CECC for Dengue Outbreak once again stresses that as eliminating vector breeding sources remains the most fundamental way to prevent dengue fever, the public is once again urged to reinforce the removing of vector-breeding sites in and around their residences to lower the risk of infection. To prevent mosquito bites in the outdoor, the public is advised to take precautions such as wearing light-colored clothing, long sleeves and long pants, and applying officially approved mosquito repellent to exposed parts of the body. If symptoms such as fever, headache, retroorbital pain, muscle pain, joint pain, and rash develop, please seek immediate medical attention and inform the doctor of any relevant medical history, recent travel history and activity to facilitate prompt diagnosis and case reporting. For more information, please visit the Taiwan CDC’s website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Care Hotline, 1922 (or 0800-001922).