TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan reported eight new imported dengue fever cases last week, including three linked to a cluster originating in Cambodia, as health authorities warned of rising mosquito-borne disease activity across Southeast Asia.
The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control said Tuesday at a press conference that imported dengue cases continue to increase and urged travelers to take precautions against mosquito bites while abroad and seek medical attention promptly if they develop symptoms within 14 days of returning to Taiwan, per a press release.
Of the eight imported cases reported last week, between July 28 and Aug. 3, three were linked to a cluster involving two men and one woman, ranging in age from their teens to their 30s, who traveled together to Cambodia for an exchange program in mid-July.
After returning to Taiwan in late July, all three developed symptoms, including fever, headache, nausea, muscle pain, and pain behind the eyes, before being diagnosed with dengue fever. Health authorities began mosquito control measures, including eliminating breeding sites and carrying out chemical spraying around the patients' homes and places they had visited, as well as monitoring the health of other members of the group.
According to the CDC, Taiwan had recorded 111 confirmed dengue fever cases so far this year. Only seven were locally acquired, all in Kaohsiung, while the remaining 104 were imported from countries in Southeast and South Asia, per the press release.
Although this year's total remains below the 130 cases reported during the same period in 2025, the CDC said the global dengue outbreak remains severe, with more than 1.58 million cases reported worldwide as of June. It warned that El Niño could extend favorable conditions for dengue transmission in affected regions this year.
The agency advised travelers to wear light-colored, long-sleeved clothing and long pants when outdoors and to use government-approved mosquito repellents containing active ingredients such as DEET, picaridin, or IR-3535. It also urged the public to remove plant saucers, discarded tires, buckets, and plastic bags to reduce mosquito breeding areas.
Additional information on dengue fever is available on the CDC website or through Taiwan's toll-free disease prevention hotline, 1922.
