During October 23 and 29, 2012, total of 78 new indigenous dengue cases, including one dengue hemorrhagic fever case, were reported. Of the new cases, 44 cases reside in Tainan City and 34 cases reside in Kaohsiung City. Since the beginning of this summer, a cumulative total of 810 dengue cases have been confirmed, including 566 cases that reside in Tainan City, 230 cases that reside in Kaohsiung City, 7 cases that reside in Taoyuan County, 2 cases that reside in New Taipei City, and one case that resides in Taipei City, Miaoli County, Chiayi County, Taitung County and Penghu County.

16 of the 44 new cases in Tainan City have been reported in Annan District, and 11 of the 34 new cases in Kaohsiung City have been reported in Sanmin District. The number of new cases reported last week is not less than that reported during the previous week. Further, the distribution of cases has continued to spread wider, showing further spread of dengue virus. Hence, Taiwan CDC once again urges the public to remain vigilant against dengue virus and clean up and remove vector-breeding sites to prevent further transmission.

The new dengue hemorrhagic fever case is the 16^th dengue hemorrhagic fever case confirmed in a seven-year-old boy who resides in Annan District, Tainan City. On October 20, he developed fever and vomiting and sought medical attention at a medical center where he was hospitalized for treatment. On October 24, when he experienced ascites and decreased platelet counts, he was transferred to the intensive care unit for further treatment. As of now, the case is still hospitalized. According to the statistics compiled by Taiwan CDC during the last 10 years (2002-2011), a total of 28 dengue hemorrhagic fever cases were confirmed in patients aged below 19, including six confirmed in preschool children aged between 0 and 5, six confirmed in elementary school students aged between 6 and 12, thirteen confirmed in middle and high school students aged between 13 and 18, and three confirmed in people aged 19. The youngest case aged only 1. Therefore, the younger population in Taiwan is also at risk for developing dengue hemorrhagic fever as well.

Taiwan CDC would like to remind the public that if symptoms such as fever, headache, fatigue, retroorbital pain, myalgia, and arthragia develop, please seek immediate medical attention and inform the doctor of any recent travel history and activity to facilitate prompt diagnosis and case reporting. On the other hand, the physician is required to inquire about the patient’s recent travel history and activity according to Article 31 of the Communicable Disease Control Act. In addition, to effectively prevent dengue transmission in the community, Taiwan CDC urges the public to voluntarily remove standing water, clean up vector breeding sites and reduce the number of water-storage containers in and around residences at least once a week to prevent the spread of dengue fever. According to Article 70 of the Communicable Disease Control Act, anyone who refuses, evades or obstructs disease control measures such as inspection decided by competent authorities or fails to notify the competent authorities of the presence of vector breeding sites that is later identified by competent authorities or clean up vector breeding sites as requested by competent authorities may be fined NT$ 3,000 up to NT$ 15,000. For any questions or further information on dengue fever or dengue hemorrhagic fever, please call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline, 1922, or 0800-024582 if calling from a cell phone, or visit the Taiwan CDC’s website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw.