During August 27 and September 1, 2013, 7 new indigenous cases of dengue fever and 7 imported cases of dengue fever were confirmed. Among the newly confirmed indigenous dengue cases, 3 cases reside in Taipei City, 3 cases reside Pingtung County and 1 case resides in Kaohsiung City. In addition, the 3 cases confirmed in Taipei City respectively live in Da’an District and Nangang District and the area of activity includes Zhongzheng District. The first two cases confirmed in Taipei City this year also live around or work in Zhongzheng District and Xinyi District. The local health bureau has implemented various measures to prevent further spread of the disease, including investigating the mosquito density in and around the case’s residence and places frequently visited by the case, conducting a thorough cleaning of vector breeding sites, and spraying insecticide. As Taipei City is densely populated and the recent heavy rainfall has resulted in an increase in the number of water-holding containers and an increase in the mosquito density in the city, vector mosquitoes are likely to become even more active. As a result, Taiwan CDC once again urges the public to clean up vector-breeding sites in and around their residences and take precautions against mosquitoes to prevent further spread of the disease. Physicians are advised to be vigilant for and notify any suspected cases to the health authority immediately to facilitate implementation of subsequent measures that prevent further spread of the disease.

As of September 1, a cumulative total of 76indigenous dengue cases and 177 imported dengue cases have been confirmed this year. Among the indigenous dengue cases, 69 cases have been confirmed in Pingtung County (36 cases in Chunri Township, 13 cases in Chaozhou Township, 11cases in Xinyuan Township, 7 cases in Pingtung City, and 2 cases in Xinpi Township), 5 cases have been confirmed in Taipei City, and 2 cases have been confirmed in Kaohsiung City.

According to Taiwan CDC, indigenous dengue outbreaks in the past years primarily occurred in southern Taiwan. Nevertheless, dengue vector mosquitoes are distributed throughout the nation. Moreover, the number of imported dengue cases has reached 177, which are distributed in 18 cities and counties, including Taipei City, New Taipei City, Taoyuan County, Taichung City, Tainan City and Kaohsiung City, in the country. Therefore, physicians are advised to heighten alert against dengue fever.

According to literature, most dengue cases experience mild or no symptoms. However, when an infected person is bitten by a vector mosquito during the viremic period, a dengue outbreak might still occur in the community. Hence, Taiwan CDC once again urges the public to stay vigilant against dengue fever and take necessary measures such as draining water containers and cleaning up vector breeding sites around their residences to effectively prevent the spread of dengue fever in the community. For any questions or further information on dengue fever or dengue hemorrhagic fever, please call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Care Hotline, 1922, or 0800-001922 if calling from a cell phone, or visit the Taiwan CDC’s website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw.