On January 8, 2013, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) announced one new case of dengue hemorrhagic fever was confirmed last week (December 25 and January 7). Thus far, a cumulative total of 35 dengue hemorrhagic fever cases, including 7 deaths, have been confirmed this dengue season. Since the beginning of the 2012 summer, a cumulative total of 1,255 dengue cases have been confirmed, including 739 cases that reside in Tainan City, 497 cases that reside in Kaohsiung City, 7 cases that reside in Taoyuan County, 5 cases that reside in New Taipei City, and one case that resides in Taipei City, Miaoli County, Yunlin County, Chiayi County, Pingtung County, Taitung County and Penghu County.  Taiwan CDC once again urges physicians to remain vigilant and the public to clean up and remove any vector-breeding sites in and around residences.

The new dengue hemorrhagic fever case confirmed two weeks ago is an 80-year-old female who resides in Fengshan District, Kaohsiung City. She is currently hospitalized for treatment. On the other hand, in terms of new indigenous dengue fever cases,8 of the 20 new cases in Kaohsiung City have been respectively reported in Fengshan District, and 4 of the 8 new dengue cases in Tainan City have been reported in North District.  Although the overall dengue activity during the last two weeks has slowed and remained unchanged after reaching a plateau, sporadic cases have continued to occur in Tainan City and Kaohsiung City.  Hence, Taiwan CDC urges the public to continue to take appropriate actions, including removing standing water and reducing the number of water-storage containers in and around residences, in order to prevent the epidemic from dragging into winter.

During the three weeks before and after the peak of this dengue season (September 16 and 22, 2012), the average amount of time it takes from a patient seeking medical assistance for the first time to the patient being reported to the health authority is 1.9 days. During the past three weeks (December 16, 2012 and January 5, 2013), the average amount of time it takes from a patient seeking medical assistance for the first time to the patient being reported to the health authority is 3.3 days, which indicates delays in hospital reporting that could potentially hurt prevention efforts and promote the spread of dengue fever. Although the weather has turned cold, dengue cases have continued to occur. Hence, Taiwan CDC urges physicians to stay vigilant for suspected cases of dengue fever and report suspected cases to the health authority as soon as possible to facilitate implementation of subsequent measures that prevent further spread of the disease. 

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 to facilitate prompt diagnosis and case reporting. For any questions or further information on dengue fever or dengue hemorrhagic fever, please call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Care Hotline, 1922, or 0800-024582 if calling from a cell phone, or visit the Taiwan CDC’s website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw.