Recently, the numbers of imported cases and suspected cases of dengue fever have both been on the rise. To raise public awareness of dengue, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) and Kuai Kuai Co., Ltd. jointly held a press conference on the theme of “draining standing water to prevent mosquitoes from breeding” at the Taipei Mayor’s Residence Art Salon at 10 am on September 25, 2017. Taiwan CDC and Kuai Kuai company urged the public to carry out the four anti-mosquito tips--“patrolling, draining, cleaning and scrubbing”. Kuai Kuai company is offering 12,000 packs of“Kuai Kuai” corn snacks for the dengue prevention campaign to all the local health bureaus in the nation.

Taiwan CDC Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) thanked Kuai Kuai company by presenting the company with a certificate of appreciation for its long-term contribution to the promotion of disease awareness. Chou said that Kuai Kuai company has been committed to improving public health for many years. Many people remembered Kuai Kuai company’s popular “Kuai Kuai Handwashing” song, which repeatedly stressed the importance of handwashing and had become deeply rooted in the hearts of millions. Last year, Kuai Kuai company released limited edition snacks for the anti-flu campaign. In 2017, Kuai Kuai company cooperated with Taiwan CDC to offer special edition snacks to promote dengue prevention tips. Director-General Chou commended Kuai Kuai company’s efforts in facilitating cooperation between the private and public sectors for dengue prevention. At the same time, Director-General Chou also encouraged more companies to pay attention to issues concerning disease control and join anti-disease campaigns to help protect public health.

On August 30, Taiwan CDC held the first livestream event on the Taiwan CDC’s Facebook fan page to raise the public awareness for enterovirus prevention. This time, Taiwan CDC wished to once again attract public attention by hosting another livestream event on Facebook. The second episode of “Lunch with a Medical Officer” was aired at 12:30 pm on September 25, 2017. Tseng Tzu-yu (曾子余), a famous anchor, was invited to be the guest to share his experience with mosquito prevention while filming outdoor. Tseng also demonstrated the four anti-mosquito tips of “patrolling, draining, cleaning and scrubbing” and discussed knowledge of dengue prevention with the medical officer. During the livestream discussion, Tseng and the medical officer interacted with the audience in real-time. In addition, a lucky draw also took place during the livestream event. Participants had the opportunity to receive gifts for leaving correct answers to the specific questions raised by the event hosts.  

Further, to highlight the importance of dengue prevention, a special check-in event would be organized in front of the Taiwan CDC headquarter building from 9 am to 5 pm during September 26 and 30, 2017, allowing people to win a limited-edition pack of “Kuai Kuai” corn snack by taking a picture in front of the event backdrop and sharing the picture publicly on their Facebook account. (The number of the gifts is limited and they are given away on a first-come, first-served basis)

Taiwan CDC reminds the public that standing water in the environment promotes the breeding of vector mosquitoes. Hence, Taiwan CDC urges the public to empty and clean any potential vector breeding sites in and around the home periodically in order to prevent dengue transmission. Travelers planning to visit areas affected by dengue fever are urged to take precautions against mosquito bites. If symptoms such as fever, headache, retroorbital pain, myalgia, arthralgia, and rash develop, please seek immediate medical attention and inform the doctor of any relevant medical history, recent travel history and activity to facilitate prompt diagnosis and case reporting. For more information, please visit the Taiwan CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline, 1922 (or 0800-001922).