CDC urges public to fight dengue

A total of 530 cases of dengue fever had been confirmed by last night and the Center for Disease Control (CDC, 疾病管制局) yesterday said that the public should put more effort in fighting the causes of the disease.

This includes drying out stagnant pools of water in neighborhoods to deny breeding room to the mosquitos that spread the disease.

"The government has done what it can to help dry out the stagnant pools, the rest of the clearing should be done by all residents," said Liu Ming-hsun (劉明勳), spokes-person of the CDC.

Dengue fever has hit the Kaohsiung area hard this year, with 333 cases in Kaohsiung City and 194 in Kaohsiung County.

One case was also reported in Taichung City, as well as one in Taipei County and another in Pingtung City.

The CDC said that 10 of the 530 cases had been confirmed as dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) -- the more severe form of the disease which can be fatal if not treated quickly and properly.

According to the CDC's records, the number of confirmed dengue fever cases this year had yesterday already exceeded the number reported each year for the past 14 years. Last year, there were 225 confirmed dengue fever cases around the nation.

"Although the number of cases that are reported every day has stopped increasing, we still receive about 20 suspected cases every day," said Lin Wen-fei (林文斐), deputy chief of the division of quarantine and intervention activities at the CDC.

Tomorrow and on Aug. 7, health bureaus in the Kaohsiung area will launch two cleaning efforts with the assistance of the military.

"I believe that we will soon see the results of the government's efforts to control the disease," Lin said. "We are not seeing immediate effects because the disease has a long incubation period."

Lin said that those who are currently suffering from dengue fever symptoms had been infected a couple of weeks ago.

In a bid to eliminate mosquito eggs and larvae, local health bureaus in Kaohsiung have for the past few weeks sprayed disinfectant around the city and have assisted residents in removing containers or other items that can retain water or collect rainwater.

Dengue fever is transmitted to humans by the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which feeds during the day.

The incubation period for dengue fever is three to 14 days and there is no vaccine against the disease.

Symptoms of dengue fever include high fever, severe headache, back ache, joint pain, nausea and rash.