During December 31, 2013 and January 6, 2014, 12 new indigenous cases of dengue fever and 4 imported cases of dengue fever were confirmed in Taiwan. All the new indigenous cases confirmed last week occurred in Pingtung County. According to the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC), although dengue activity has declined in southern Taiwan, sporadic cases continue to occur in Pingtung City and Wandan Township, Pingtung County. Hence, Taiwan CDC urges the residents in southern Taiwan to make full use of spring cleaning to reinforce the removal of vector-breeding sites and ensure the cleanliness of the environment as well as recycle all unwanted containers in order to prevent further spread of dengue fever.

All the newly confirmed indigenous cases reside in Pingtung County: 8 reside in Pingtung City and 4 reside in Wandan Township.

Since last year, as of January 6, 2014, a cumulative total of 590 indigenous dengue cases have been confirmed. Among the indigenous cases, 469 cases have been confirmed in Pingtung County, 70 cases have been confirmed in Kaohsiung City, 38 cases have been confirmed in Tainan City, 9 cases have been confirmed in Taipei City, and 1 case has been respectively confirmed in New Taipei City, Taoyuan County, Taichung City and Chiayi County.

Taiwan CDC stresses that there is currently no effective vaccine or cure for dengue fever and removing vector-breeding sites remains the most effective way to prevent dengue fever. Therefore, the public is urged to thoroughly clean and remove any indoor and outdoor water containers and vector breeding sources around their residences, and recycle all unwanted containers to prevent further transmission of the virus. For more information on dengue fever, 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 if calling from a cell phone.