During December 17 and 23, 2013, 40 new indigenous cases of dengue fever and 2 imported cases of dengue fever were confirmed in Taiwan. Most of the new cases confirmed last week occurred in Pingtung County (32), followed by Kaohsiung City (4), Tainan City (3), and Taoyuan County (1). Thus far this year, the majority of dengue fever cases have been confirmed in Pingtung County and the number of dengue fever cases in southern Taiwan has continued to increase. Hence, the public, especially residents in southern Taiwan and Pingtung County, is reminded to continue to thoroughly clean and empty any indoor and outdoor water containers and vector breeding sources and be sure to continue to maintain the cleanliness of the environment to prevent further spread of the virus.

Of the 40 new indigenous cases, 32 cases reside in Pingtung County: 23 reside in Pingtung City, 8 reside in Wandan Township, and 1 resides in Zhutian Township, 4 reside in Kaohsiung City, 3 reside in Tainan City, and 1 resides in Taoyuan County. All of them visited Kaohsiung City prior to disease onset.

As of December 23, 2013, a cumulative total of 554 indigenous dengue cases have been confirmed this dengue season. Among the indigenous cases, 436 cases have been confirmed in Pingtung County, 68 cases have been confirmed in Kaohsiung City, 37 cases have been confirmed in Tainan City, 9 cases have been confirmed in Taipei City, and 1 case has been respectively confirmed in New Taipei City, Taoyuan County, Taichung City and Chiayi County. On the other hand, during the same period, a total of 13 dengue hemorrhagic fever cases have been confirmed, including 8 cases that reside in Pingtung County, 3 cases that reside in Kaohsiung City, and 2 cases that reside in Tainan City.

Taiwan CDC stresses that everyone needs to participate in dengue control efforts in order to successfully contain the epidemic and urges the public to stay vigilant against dengue fever and take necessary measures such as draining water containers and cleaning up vector breeding sites around their residences to lower the vector density in the community. In addition, physicians are advised to be vigilant for patients with fever and notify any suspected dengue cases to the health authority immediately to prevent further spread of the disease. For more information on dengue fever, 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 if calling from a cell phone.