During November 26 and December 2, 2013, 45 new indigenous cases of dengue fever, 8 imported cases of dengue fever, and 1 new case of dengue hemorrhagic fever were confirmed in Taiwan. Most of the new cases confirmed last week occurred in Pingtung County (34), followed by Tainan City (7), Kaohsiung City (2), Taipei City (1) and Chiayi County (1). As the risk of dengue transmission remains, the public, especially residents in southern Taiwan, is reminded to continue to thoroughly clean and remove any indoor and outdoor water containers and vector breeding sources and be sure to continue to maintain the cleanliness of the environment to prevent further spread of the virus. Physicians are also 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.

The new dengue hemorrhagic fever case confirmed last week is a 13-year-old female student who resides in Renai Village, Pingtung City, Pingtung County. She sought medical attention three times prior to being reported to the health authority as a dengue case and hospitalized for treatment. Of the 45 new indigenous cases, most cases reside in Pingtung County (34): 25 reside in Pingtung City, 5 reside in Wandan Township, 2 reside in Changjhih Township, and 1 resides in Donggang Township, 7 reside in Tainan City, 2 reside in Kaohsiung City, 1 resides in Taipei City, and 1 resides in Chiayi County. All of them had visited southern Taiwan prior to disease onset.

As of December 2, 2013, a cumulative total of 380 indigenous dengue cases have been confirmed this dengue season. Among the indigenous dengue cases, 318 cases have been confirmed in Pingtung County, 36 cases have been confirmed in Kaohsiung City, 14 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, Taichung City and Chiayi County. On the other hand, during the same period, a total of 7 dengue hemorrhagic fever cases have been confirmed, including 6 cases that reside in Pingtung County and 1 case that resides in Tainan City.

Taiwan CDC stresses that everyone needs to participate in dengue control efforts in order to successfully contain the epidemic and 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 as well as preventing mosquito bites to effectively prevent the spread of dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever and protect their health and the health of their family. In addition, physicians are advised to be vigilant for and notify any suspected cases to the health authority immediately to prevent further spread of the disease. 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.