On November 20, 2015, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) for Dengue Outbreak convened the 2015 National Dengue Fever Conference. During the Conference, Premier Mao Chi-kuo of the Executive Yuan instructed that dengue prevention and control was to be included as annual routine work item and preparedness and response efforts needed to be completed every year before the rainy season in order to respond to the outbreak more readily.

After conducting five times of larval control interventions, Tainan City has been reporting less than 30 new cases daily. Premier Mao praised the hard work and efforts of the disease control personnel. At the same time, Premier Mao instructed the revision of relevant standard operations procedures based on Singapore’s experience in mosquito control. Unless large-scale community dengue outbreaks occur, large-scale cleaning of vector breeding sites should be minimized.

The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control would be revising the Guidelines for Dengue Control to change the existing two-stage (non-outbreak period and emergency) prevention and control strategies to three-stage (non-outbreak period, sporadic occurrence, and cluster infection) prevention and control strategies in order to reinforce investigation on vector mosquitoes, cleaning of vector breeding sites, supplementary chemical vector control, early community mobilization and awareness campaigns and prevent large-scale cluster infections.

The Conference was participated by health and environmental protection authorities in the 22 cities and counties in the nation as well as environmental and public health experts such as Professor Emeritus Hsu Err-lien (徐爾烈) of the Department of Entomology of National Taiwan University to discuss several issues, including rapid diagnostic test, vaccine research and development, Singapore’s experience in dengue control, delegation of work among competent authorities, and the use of Wolbachia to control dengue. In addition, participating experts recommended passing on this year’s dengue control experience, including the proper application of DEET insect repellent, rewarding recycling of empty containers, reinforced school- and community-based health education, and expanded use of rapid diagnostic test, to all relevant stakeholders in order to prevent another outbreak from occurring.

According to the statistics compiled by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) for Dengue Outbreak, a total of additional 399 indigenous dengue cases were confirmed in Taiwan on November 19, 2015, including 364 cases in Kaohsiung City and 25 cases in Tainan City. The number of new cases reported in Kaohsiung City is 96 cases more than that reported during the same day last week, while the number of new cases reported in Tainan City is 1 case less than that reported during the same day last week.. Since this summer, a cumulative total of 35,744 indigenous dengue cases, including 22,486 cases in Tainan City, 12,589 cases in Kaohsiung City, 232 cases in Pingtung City and imported and sporadic cases in other cities and counties, have been confirmed. Thus far, a cumulative total of 158 deaths, including 112 deaths in Tainan City, 44 deaths in Kaohsiung City, and 2 deaths in Pingtung City, were found to be linked with dengue infection. 30 deaths, including 28 from Kaohsiung City and 2 from Tainan City, are still waiting to be reviewed. Currently, 60 dengue patients are being treated in the intensive care unit. 92.6 % of the total reported cases, which is 33,116 patients, have recovered.

CECC for Dengue Outbreak reminds that dengue activity in Kaohsiung City remains at its peak. The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) is assisting the Kaohsiung City Government in implementing the fifth phase of vector site cleaning program in 37 villages in the city that was launched on November 19 as an attempt to prevent the ongoing outbreak from escalating.