TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Centers for Disease Control held a regularly scheduled press conference on Tuesday, reporting 12 new cases of imported dengue fever last week (July 15-21), the highest number in a single week this year.
CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Kuo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said the cases originated from Thailand (4), Indonesia (3), Vietnam (3), Myanmar (1), and Cambodia (1). Kuo said that all of the dengue fever cases this year originated from abroad, with 109 cases to date, the second highest number over the same period in the past six years.
The CDC said there have been more than 3.3 million cases of dengue fever internationally this year, with cases mainly distributed in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. In Asia, outbreaks have occurred in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and China.
CDC Deputy Director General Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said travelers should pay attention to a dengue fever outbreak in China's Guangdong Province, which recorded the highest number of cases over a similar period in six years. For example, Foshan City reported more than 1,800 cases in the year to date.
According to Lo, the dengue fever epidemic in Guangdong has yet to peak, leading the CDC to raise its travel health notice to "Level 1: Watch." The warning advises travelers to take the usual precautions when traveling to the region, including wearing light-colored, long-sleeved clothes and pants, and using mosquito repellent containing DEET, Picaridin, or IR3535.
Furthermore, if you have symptoms such as fever, headache, pain behind the eye sockets, muscle and joint pain, or a rash, contact airport quarantine personnel upon arriving in Taiwan. If related symptoms occur after returning to the country, seek medical attention as soon as possible.
The CDC also encourages the public to "patrol, empty, clean, and sweep" after rain to remove stagnant water which allows mosquitoes to breed. These proactive measures can reduce the risk of infection and transmission of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever.
