As dengue activity has continued to increase and the number of new dengue cases has continued to report in southern Taiwan, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) urges schools at all levels to thoroughly remove all water-filled containers in and around campuses as a new school year was about to begin in order to prevent the transmission of dengue fever.

Although no students and teachers frequent the campus during the summer vacation, residents in the community still visit the school for various activities. As a result, a number of vector breeding sites such as vases, flower pots and the dishes, discarded bottles, buckets, unwanted tires in the sports fields, tree holes, bamboo tubes, leaf axils, and plant pots in the office or classroom might have resulted. Hence, Taiwan CDC remind schools at all levels to thoroughly clean all the potential breeding sites from the school grounds before the school starts. In addition, schools are recommended to keep fish such as mosquitofish and angelfish that eat mosquito larvae in ponds used for keeping aquatic plants meant for teaching purposes and advised to periodically check the ponds for the presence of mosquito larvae in order to remove any when found and prevent a potential dengue outbreak.

During August 18 and 24, 2015, a total of 1,118 new dengue cases, including 1,103 indigenous cases and 15 imported cases, were confirmed in Taiwan. Among the indigenous cases, 981 were confirmed in Tainan City, 115 were confirmed in Kaohsiung City, 4 were confirmed in Pingtung County, 2 were confirmed in Taichung City, and 1 was confirmed in New Taipei City. The number of newly confirmed cases in Tainan City has increased rapidly, accounting for 87% of the total number of cases confirmed in Taiwan since this summer. The rate at which the number of cases grows in Tainan City this summer is the fastest compared to the same period in the previous years. On the other hand, the number of newly confirmed cases reported in Kaohsiung City last week is 2.2 times more than that reported the week before last week, indicating a rising trend. Since this May, a cumulative total of 2,262 indigenous dengue cases have been confirmed, including 1,974 cases, including 4 deaths, in Tainan City, 261 cases in Kaohsiung City, and 27 sporadic cases in 8 other cities and counties, while a cumulative total of 164 imported cases have been confirmed and the majority of them were from Indonesia (72).

With the increase in the number of dengue cases, the toll-free operation hotline, 1922, operated by Taiwan CDC has received a number of public inquiries concerning the disease. Some of the most commonly asked questions include how dengue fever is transmitted, what the symptoms are, how long dengue testing takes, and the range of insecticide spraying conducted by health authorities. As thoroughly eliminating vector breeding sources is the most effective way to prevent dengue fever, the public is once again urged to reinforce the removing of vector-breeding sites in and around their residences to ward off infection and ensure their own health and the health of others. 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 any questions or further information, please visit the Taiwan CDC’s website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Care Hotline, 1922 (or 0800-001922).