Analysis and Evaluation of the National Notifiable Diseases in Taiwan, 2008

Sau-Yu Liao, Che-Chieh Yen, Hui-Hsun Hung

2010 Vol.26 NO.21

Correspondence Author: Sau-Yu Liao

Abstract:

To evaluate the trend of notifiable diseases in 2008, this study analyzed the surveillance data of notifiable communicable diseases in Taiwan, starting from January 1 to December 31, 2008 (disease onset in year 2008). The results of this study indicated that the Category Four notifiable diseases had the highest case number (13,254 cases). The major diagnosis of the imported cases was dengue fever (226 cases), and most of these cases were from Southeast Asian countries, such as Indonesia and Vietnam. “Invasive pneumococcal disease” had the highest confirmed cases (805 cases), and “severe complicated influenza” had the highest fatality rate (13.6%). The ratio of male to female in notifiable diseases in 2008 was 1.8:1. Not only children younger than 5 year-old and the elderly older than 65 year-old, but also people aged between 25 and 64 had a considerable proportion of being infected by acute notifiable diseases. Regarding chronic notifiable diseases, tuberculosis was still the most common disease in 2008, but there was an upward trend in syphilis and gonorrhea.