On August 8, 2011, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) confirmed the second indigenous case of dengue fever that occurred in Taiwan this year. The case is a 14-year-old female student who resides in Pingtung.As rain has continued to pour down on the southern part of Taiwan due to the influence of south-western air current, Taiwan CDC urges the public to clean up and remove water storage containers around their home both indoor and outdoor as soon as possible after a rain to prevent dengue transmission.

According to Taiwan CDC, the case has no overseas travel history.On August 1, 2011, the case developed symptoms such as headache, dry mouth and tongue, fever, joint pain and muscle pain.Afterwards, she sought medical attention at two medical institutions.However, her symptoms persisted.On August 6, when she began to develop rashes and itchy skin, she sought further medical attention and was hospitalized for treatment.On August 7, she was reported to the health authority as a suspected case and specimen was collected from the case.Taiwan CDC later confirmed dengue fever in the case.According to the epidemiological investigation, the case has ranged mainly around her residence and school besides visiting Nantou prior to her disease onset.The health authority will soon proceed with a thorough cleaning of vector breeding sites as well as implementing necessary disease control measures at and around the case’s residence.According to the surveillance data compiled by Taiwan CDC, as of August 8, a cumulative total of 80 dengue fever cases have been confirmed, including 17 indigenous cases and 63 imported cases.Of the 17 indigenous cases, 15 had their disease onset before February 16, 2011.

As the environment determines the potential of dengue transmission, Taiwan CDC urges the public to voluntarily clean up vector breeding sites and reduce the number of water-storage containers in and around residences to prevent the spread of dengue fever.The public is also urged to periodically eliminate standing water on the rooftop and in the basement and drain or remove any unused containers that collect standing water such as used tires, cans, canvas, plastic bottles, and plant pots in order to reduce the breeding of vector mosquitoes.

Taiwan CDC urges the public to support and comply with the government measures to control 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.Further, Taiwan CDC emphasizes 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.