An Indigenous Outbreak of Dengue Fever in Toubiankeng's Orchards, Taiping District, Taichung City, 2018

DOI: 10.6525/TEB.202307_39(13).0001

Min-Tsung Lin¹, Yu-Chun Chang¹, Chin-Gi Huang², Kung-Ching Wang¹, Pei-Fang Lai¹, Pi-Long Liu¹, Ching-Fen Ko^1,3*

2023 Vol.39 NO.13

Correspondence Author： Ching-Fen Ko^1,3*

Abstract：

        In 2018, an indigenous outbreak of dengue fever (DF) occurred in Taichung City. Among the DF-confirmed cases, 16 cases were related to Toubiankeng's orchards located in Taiping District, Taichung City.
        The epidemiologic investigation found that 16 cases had spatial relationships, and the identified causative type 1 dengue viruses shared similar genomic sequences in some cases, thus confirming the DF outbreak. The epidemic origin was likely due to an unknown asymptomatic case who transmitted the disease to inhabitants or farmers in orchards by Aedes albopictus.
        Because the orchards are located in a mountainous area and the passages are narrow, it was difficult to eliminate the breeding sites and implement chemical control. Therefore, more manpower was needed to control the outbreak.
        From October 23 to November 16, 2018, Taiwan Centers for Disease Control and Taichung City Government mobilized 563 person-times to eliminate breeding sites, execute chemical control, and assess the effectiveness of vector control measures. We believe that a complete control plan, including chemical control, reducing adult mosquitoes’ density, contact tracing, DF testing to find the case early, and restricting public access to the orchards, was the key to controlling this outbreak successfully. In this article, we describe the DF outbreak in orchards and make recommendations to deal with similar situations in the future.