On November 27, 2015, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) for Dengue Outbreak convened the eleventh meeting. To prevent the ongoing dengue outbreak from escalating, during the meeting, the pilot program for cleaning of vector breeding sites in place of insecticide spraying implemented in Kaohsiung City was approved. In addition, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) launched a three-day outdoor vector breeding site clean-up program yesterday.

According to the statistics compiled by CECC for Dengue Outbreak, a total of additional 283 indigenous dengue cases were confirmed in Kaohsiung City on November 26, 2015. Since this summer, a cumulative total of 15,022 cases have been confirmed in Kaohsiung City, which exceeds the total number of dengue cases reported in Kaohsiung City last year (14,999). Nevertheless, the average weekly number of new cases has been on the decline. As the incubation period of dengue fever ranges from 3 to 14 days, it remains to be observed whether the ongoing dengue outbreak in Kaohsiung City has been reversed.

On the other hand, a total of additional 16 dengue cases were reported in Tainan City on November 26. Dengue activity has declined for 9 consecutive weeks in Tainan CitThe total number of new dengue cases confirmed in Taiwan yesterday is 302. Since this summer, a cumulative total of 38,369 indigenous dengue cases have been confirmed in Taiwan. 93.3 % of the total reported cases have recovered. Thus far, a cumulative total of 174 deaths, including 112 deaths in Tainan City, 60 deaths in Kaohsiung City, and 2 deaths in Pingtung City, were found to be linked with dengue infection. The median age is 76 years old. 26 deaths, including 23 from Kaohsiung City and 3 from Tainan City, are still waiting to be reviewed.

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. Beginning yesterday, EPA also launched a three-day outdoor vector breeding site clean-up program to be conducted in 290 villages in four districts, including Sanmin District, Lingya District, Fongshan District and Cianjhen District, in Kaohsiung City. The program, which is modeled after a clean-up program conducted in Singapore, aims to raise awareness on dengue prevention in the community and get the community involved in the clean-up and removal of vector breeding sites.

Under the influence of a cold air mass, the temperature in Kaohsiung City has slightly dropped. However, the temperature is expected to gradually rise again tomorrow. Moreover, due to El Niño, this fall’s average temperature has been slightly higher than that in previous years, which favors the growth of vector mosquitoes. Hence, the public is once again reminded to continue to remove and clean vector breeding sites and seek immediate medical attention when suspected symptoms develop in order to prevent dengue transmission.