TAINAN, Taiwan: The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced that Taiwan recorded three additional deaths due to dengue fever last week, amid a surge of cases primarily concentrated in Tainan city. This outbreak marks Taiwan’s most significant dengue outbreak in nearly a decade, with 9,463 out of 10,496 local cases this year occurring in Tainan.
During the week of September 19-25, 1,855 out of 2,017 new dengue fever cases were reported in Tainan, according to the CDC. In the past week, the total number of dengue fever fatalities across the country increased by three, bringing the year’s total to 15.
To prevent mosquito bites, the CDC advises individuals to wear light-colored, long-sleeved clothing and use government-certified insect repellent. They also recommend reducing outdoor containers and eliminating mosquito eggs and larvae after rainstorms.
A joint CDC-central government task force was established in Tainan on September 18, with the goal of reducing weekly cases to below 1,000 within a month. The CDC has identified 165 imported cases this year, mainly from Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Latin America is also a hotspot for dengue fever, with over 3.47 million cases reported in countries like Brazil, Argentina, Peru, and Bolivia.
Taiwan has reported a total of 10,496 local dengue fever cases this year, marking the second-highest number in the past decade, just behind the 2015 outbreak, which saw over 43,000 cases.
