On December 3, 2015, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) for Dengue Outbreak convened the twelfth meeting. Although dengue activity in Kaohsiung City has decreased for two consecutive weeks, it still remains rampant. The central and local governments will continue to work together with the community to bring the ongoing outbreak under control as soon as possible and prevent it from continuing into the winter.

During November 26 and 28, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) completed the three-day community engagement outdoor vector breeding site clean-up program conducted in in four districts, including Sanmin District, Lingya District, Fongshan District and Cianjhen District, in Kaohsiung City. Further, EPA also reinforced inspection activities on potential vector breeding sites that cannot be cleaned immediately and treated them with insecticide. In addition, the Kaohsiung City Government will be evaluating the outcome of the pilot program for cleaning of vector breeding sites in place of insecticide spraying implemented in Lingya District in the end of December, which will provide a reference for future prevention and control policies. For the first time since this outbreak, the number of new cases reported in Kaohsiung City last week is lower than that reported during the week before last week. Nevertheless, dengue activity remains rampant in the city. The majority of the reported cases occurred in Sanmin District, Fongshan District, Cianjhen District and Lingya District. The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has conducted five times of vector site cleaning program in Kaohsiung City, which is in line with the pilot program for cleaning of vector breeding sites in place of insecticide spraying implemented by the Kaohsiung City Government. In addition, Modeling after a clean-up program implemented in Singapore, the program aimed to promote awareness on dengue prevention in the community and get the community involved in the clean-up and removal of vector breeding sites.

According to the statistics compiled by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) for Dengue Outbreak, a total of additional 247 indigenous dengue cases were confirmed in Taiwan on December 2, 2015, including 234 cases in Kaohsiung City and 6 cases in Tainan City. The number of new cases reported in Kaohsiung City is 49 cases less than that reported during the same day last week, while the number of new cases reported in Tainan City is 10 cases less than that reported during the same day last week. Although dengue activity in Kaohsiung City has decreased for two consecutive weeks, it remains at a high level. On the other hand, dengue activity in Tainan City has been decreasing steadily. In addition, the incubation period of dengue fever varies from 3 to 14 days, CECC for Dengue Outbreak continues to closely monitor the development of the ongoing outbreak and improve the timeliness of dengue surveillance. Since this summer, a cumulative total of 39,898 indigenous dengue cases have been confirmed. Thus far, a cumulative total of 184 deaths, including 112 deaths in Tainan City, 70 deaths in Kaohsiung City, and 2 deaths in Pingtung City, were found to be linked with dengue infection. 31 deaths, including 28 from Kaohsiung City and 3 from Tainan City, are still waiting to be reviewed. Currently, 55 dengue patients are being treated in the intensive care unit. 95.0% of the total reported cases, which is 37,923 patients, have recovered.184

Although the weather has slowly turned cold, the temperature in southern Taiwan still favors the growth of vector mosquitoes. To prevent ongoing dengue outbreaks from continuing into the winter, the public is urged to remain vigilant for dengue and continue to empty and clean vector breeding sites. If suspected symptoms develop, please seek immediate medical attention. Moreover, due to climate change, Taiwan is at an increased risk for dengue outbreak. Therefore, dengue prevention and control efforts will be included as an annual routine work item for the government and the government will continue to refer to international dengue prevention and control experiences to ensure community engagement in all future dengue prevention and control efforts.