On April 22, 2014, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) convened this year's first "Dengue Epidemic Coordination and Management Meeting", which was co-hosted by the Deputy Director-General of the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) Jen-Hsiang Chuang and the Director of EPA Shaw-Ying Yuan. Representatives from related central government agencies and local governments were invited to attend the meeting to contribute to the formulation of this year's dengue control strategies.
One of the consensuses reached during the meeting is that the removal of vector breeding sources would remain this year's primary dengue prevention strategy. Central and local government agencies were asked to intensify the promotion and implementation of relevant control efforts, including community mobilization and container reduction, prior to the dengue season in order to eliminate vector breeding grounds and lower the risk of local outbreaks. Other consensuses reached during the meeting include management and patrolling of houses and buildings managed by governments, vacant lands and vacant buildings. Local governments were asked to make public announcements to remind the public to remove vector breeding sources prior to the epidemic season and educate the public about the significance of periodically removing vector breeding sources. In addition, local governments were also asked to promote public awareness on dengue prevention and control, organize educational training for healthcare professionals in order to reduce dengue incidence and mortality.
According to the surveillance data compiled by Taiwan CDC, thus far this year, as of April 21, 2014, a total of 14 indigenous dengue cases have been confirmed and all of them are cases resulted from last year's epidemic. On the other hand, during the same period, a total of 47 imported dengue cases have been confirmed. Most of which were imported from Indonesia (23), followed by Malaysia (13), the Philippines (6), Singapore (3), Cambodia (1) and French Polynesia (1). As dengue epidemics remain rampant in countries in Southeast Asia and the number of imported dengue cases continues to increase, the risk of local outbreaks is elevated.
Taiwan CDC urges local governments to reinforce the promotion of dengue awareness and reminds travelers visiting areas affected by dengue to take prevention measures against mosquito bites to prevent infection. 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.