According to the epidemic data analysis conducted by the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC), during the past week, a total of three imported cases of dengue fever were confirmed. The three cases respectively came from Thailand, Bengal and Indonesia.One of the cases sought medical attention six days after disease onset, increasing the chance of further transmission.Hence, Taiwan CDC urges travelers returning to Taiwan to seek medical assistance immediately when discomfort occurs.

One of the imported cases of dengue fever recently visited Indonesia.On May 19, 2011, the case arrived in Taiwan.On May 24, the case began to develop symptoms such as headache, joint pain, dry mouth, thirst, loss of appetite, fever, and itchy skin.On May 24 and May 27, the case respectively sought medical attention at two different clinics.On May 29, the case sought medical attention for the third time at a regional hospital.At the hospital, the case was diagnosed with suspected dengue fever.The other two imported cases were separately reported: one was detected by the fever screening system at the airport and the other was reported to the health authority when seeking medical attention for the first time after disease onset.

As of May 31, 2011, a total of 28 imported cases of dengue fever had been confirmed. Among the cases, 9 came from Vietnam, 6 came from Indonesia, 4 came from the Philippines, 3 came from Thailand, 2 came from Malaysia, 2 came from Myanmar, 1 came from Bengal, and 1 came from Singapore. Taiwan CDC reminds the public that dengue fever continues to remain endemic in countries in Southeast Asia and advises the public to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites when visiting dengue-endemic areas by wearing light-colored clothing, long sleeves and long pants and applying officially approved mosquito repellent to exposed parts of the body. If suspected symptoms such as fever, headache, rash, muscle or joint pains develop after returning home, please seek immediate medical assistance and inform the doctor of the recent travel history to facilitate diagnosis and implementation of subsequent measures to prevent further spread of the disease.

As the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) has been consecutively issuing torrential downpour alerts, Taiwan CDC urges the public to clean up and remove water storage containers to lower the risk of an epidemic.Further, Taiwan CDC warns against storing a large quantity of water at home due to the current water shortage lest the resulting standing water can become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.Anyone found in violation of Article 25 of the Communicable Disease Control Act for failing to clean up vector breeding sites as requested will be fined NT$ 3,000 up to NT$ 15,000 according to Article 70 of the Communicable Disease Control Act. For any questions or further information, please call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline 1922, or visit the Taiwan CDC’s website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw.