On August 15, 2017, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) announced that imported dengue cases had continued to occur. Over the recent one month, most of the imported cases became infected in Vietnam, followed by the Philippines and Myanmar. The overall level of dengue activity in Southeast Asia remains on the rise. Travelers planning to visit dengue-affected areas are reminded to take precautions against mosquito bites. If suspected symptoms such as fever develop upon returning to Taiwan, please voluntarily inform the quarantine officer at the airport. If symptoms develop within 2 weeks of returning to Taiwan, please seek immediate medical attention and inform the doctor of the recent travel history to ensure prompt diagnosis and treatment, lowering the risk of local transmission.

According to the surveillance data compiled by Taiwan CDC, since July 2017, 4 dengue clusters of 9 imported cases have been confirmed in Taiwan. 2 clusters originated in the Philippines, 1 originated in Vietnam and 1 originated in Myanmar. The cases traveled for the reasons of visiting relatives, studying and participating in volunteering activities.　Thus far this year, a cumulative total of 172 imported dengue cases have been confirmed in Taiwan, which is the second highest compared to the same period during the recent 6 years (2012-2017), while 3 indigenous dengue cases have been confirmed. Last year, a cumulative total of 380 indigenous dengue cases and 363 imported dengue cases were confirmed.

Recently, the overall level of dengue activity in Southeast Asia has been on the rise. The most affected countries include Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Laos and Cambodia. Among them, Vietnam (>80,000 cases), Sri Lanka (>120,000 cases) and Laos have all reported a higher number of cases this year compared to the same period last year. While, Malaysia and Thailand have reported a similar number of cases this year compared to the same period last year.　

Taiwan CDC once again reminds travelers planning to visit areas affected by dengue fever to take precautions against mosquito bites such as wearing light-colored clothing, long sleeves and long pants, applying officially approved mosquito repellent to exposed parts of the body, staying at accommodations installed with window screens, screen doors or air conditioners. If symptoms such as fever, headache, retroorbital pain, myalgia, arthralgia, and rash after their return, please seek immediate medical attention and inform the physician of their travel and activity history in order to facilitate diagnosis and treatment. At the same time, physicians are urged to heighten vigilance for suspected cases and reinforce case-reporting in order to facilitate subsequent implementation of prevention measures. For more information, please visit the Taiwan CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline, 1922 (or 0800-001922).