On July 9, 2013, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) announced 5 new indigenous cases of dengue fever and 10 imported cases of dengue fever were confirmed during July 2 and 8, 2013. As of July 8, 2013, a cumulative total of 69 indigenous dengue cases and 99 imported dengue cases have been confirmed this year. The dengue outbreaks in Xinyuan Township and Chunri Township and Chaozhou Township, Pingtung County have continued to persist. As the dengue season has approached, Taiwan CDC once again urges the public to remain vigilant and seek immediate medical attention when suspected symptoms develop and advises physicians to stay vigilant as well.

The 5 newly confirmed indigenous cases all reside in Pingtung County: 2 reside in Chrunri Township, 2 reside in Chaozhou Township, and 1 resides in Xinyuan Township. Thus far this year, a total of 69 indigenous cases have been confirmed, including 53 cases in Pingtung County (35 cases in Chunri Township 8 cases in Xinyuan Township, and 10 cases in Chaozhou Township), 10 cases in Tainan City, and 6 cases in Kaohsiung City. According to epidemiological investigation, 40 of the 53 cases reported in Pingtung County were reported to the health authority by healthcare providers. On average, the approximate number of days between the day a case developed symptoms and the day the case was reported to the health authority is 2.1 days. One of the cases voluntarily visited the local health center for testing and was then reported to the health authority when infection was confirmed in the case. The other 12 cases were detected through contact tracing. And, the average number of days between the day a close contact developed symptoms and the day the close contact was reported to the health authority is about 6.2 days, which is much longer than the time needed to be reported to the health authority by the healthcare provider. Hence, Taiwan CDC urges the public to heighten vigilance, seek immediate medical attention when suspected symptoms develop, clean and remove vector-breeding sites in and around the residence, and take personal precautions against mosquito bites to lower the risk of dengue infection.

As dengue season is upon us, Taiwan CDC urges travelers visiting countries in southeast Asia and areas at risk for dengue transmission to take precautions against mosquito bites, including wearing light-colored clothing, long sleeves and long pants and applying officially approved mosquito repellent to exposed parts of the body to lower the risk of infection. Taiwan CDC emphasizes if symptoms such as fever, headache, fatigue, retroorbital pain, myalgia, and arthragia develop after returning to Taiwan, please seek immediate medical attention and inform the doctor of any recent travel history and activity to facilitate prompt diagnosis and case reporting. Physicians are advised to be vigilant for and notify any suspected cases to the health authority immediately to facilitate implementation of subsequent measures that prevent further spread of the disease. For more information on dengue 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.