On April 22, 2016, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) confirmed one indigenous dengue case and one imported chikungunya case. Both cases resides in Gushan District, Kaohsiung City. Additionally, both cases were reported on the same day. The joy of the local health authority having improved case detection capability, which has prevented secondary infection, is mixed with the sorrow of the potential risk of importing vector-borne diseases. The public is once again reminded that both dengue fever and chikungunya are spread by infected mosquitoes. As the temperature in southern Taiwan has been increasing, mosquitoes have begun to thrive. Therefore, the public is urged to reinforce the cleaning and removal of vector breeding sites and travelers planning to visit areas affected by vector-borne diseases are urged to take precautions against mosquito bites.

The newly confirmed indigenous dengue case is a 77-year-old female who frequents a temple in Gushan District, Kaohsiung City. On April 19, she subsequently developed symptoms such as insomnia, diarrhea and fever. On April 21, she was reported to the health authority as a suspected case after seeking medical attention. On April 22, infection with dengue fever was confirmed in the case. It has been one and a half month since the last case was reported in the same city. The onset date of the previously reported case is March 5.

On the same day, an imported chikungunya case was also confirmed in Gushan District, Kaohsiung City. The case is a 37-year-old male who traveled to Brazil for business on April 12 and returned to Taiwan on April 19. On the following day of his return, he developed symptoms such as fever, joint pain and muscle ache. He then sought medical attention and infection with chikungunya was confirmed in the case after he was reported to the health authority as a suspected case. As of April 22, 2016, a cumulative total of 4 imported chikungunya cases have been reported in Taiwan. Chikungunya was listed as a notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan since 2007, a cumulative total of 84 chikungunya cases have been confirmed. All of the cases were imported and they were mostly from Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia and the Philippines. On the other hand, since the first local transmission of chikungunya was reported in the Americas in December 2013, the Caribbean nations have been the worst hit and a cumulative total of over 1.9 million suspected and confirmed cases have been reported.

As the weather has been warming up and intermittent rains have continued to occur in southern Taiwan, the rain could have easily fill household containers with water. If the water-filled containers are not emptied and cleaned in time, they can quickly turn into vector breeding sites, increasing the risk of dengue transmission. Hence, Taiwan CDC urges the public to empty and clean any potential vector breeding sites in and around the home periodically and take precautions against mosquito bites in order to ward off infection. Travelers planning to visit areas affected by dengue fever or chikungunya are urged to take precautions against mosquitoes. 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).