In the evening of July 24, 2016, 2 inbound passengers were detected with a fever by the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) quarantine officer at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Infection with dengue fever was confirmed in the two passengers by laboratory testing. The 2 passengers are members in the same tour group returning to Taiwan from a trip to Malaysia. Hence, it is determined that the 2 of them are imported clustered cases. According to the international disease surveillance data, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Laos have all recently reported an increasing or rather high level of dengue activity. Travelers planning to visit the aforementioned countries are advised to take precautions against mosquito bites. If feeling unwell upon returning to Taiwan, please notify the airline crew and the quarantine officer at the quarantine station in the airport in order to facilitate timely treatment and subsequent implementation of prevention measures.

The 2 cases traveled to Malaysia with 31 other tour group members to attend a life education class on July 12, 2016. During July 20 and 23, the tour group visited a local rainforest national park. In the evening of July 24, upon their arrival in Taiwan, the 2 cases were detected with a fever by the airport fever screening. In addition, they were experiencing muscle ache and joint pain. Infection with dengue fever in the 2 cases was later confirmed by laboratory testing. To prevent the further spread of the disease, the health authority has implemented relevant prevention and control measures and will continue to follow up on the health of the other tour group members.

Thus far this year, as of July 27, 2016, a cumulative total of 375 indigenous dengue cases have been confirmed in Taiwan. The majority of the cases occurred during the outbreak that started last year. On the other hand, a cumulative total of 161 imported dengue cases have been confirmed in Taiwan and they were mostly from Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia and Malaysia. Countries in Southeast Asia have always been popular travel destinations among the Taiwanese travelers. Further, Taiwan’s new administration is actively promoting the New Southward Policy that aims to further encourage more trade and exchanges between Southeast Asia nations and Taiwan. Nonetheless, in light of global warming and globalization, the rate at which infectious diseases spread is expedited. To protect the people in Taiwan from the threat of infectious diseases, besides closely monitoring international outbreaks, Taiwan CDC is committed to reducing cross‐border disease spread and containing outbreaks at their source.

As the summer travel season is upon us, Taiwan CDC urges travelers planning to visit areas affected by vector-borne diseases to take precautions against mosquito bites such as wearing light-colored clothing, long sleeves and long pants, applying officially approved mosquito repellent to exposed parts of the body, staying at accommodations installed with window screens, screen doors or air conditioners. 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 more information, please visit the Taiwan CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline, 1922 (or 0800-001922).