Hsieh fights against contenders, dengue

"I admit that [the mosquitoes resistance] did delay our ability to decrease the mosquito population," Hsieh wrote.

Hsieh vowed to eradicate dengue fever within two years because he had learned a lot from past experience.

The city government announced last week that everyone must spend a half-hour before and after work every Tuesday to help wipe out breeding sites for the mosquitoes that spread dengue fever.

The spread of dengue fever in Kaohsiung frustrates Hsieh but gives ammunition to his competitors.

Independent candidate Shih Ming-teh (施明德) said that Hsieh's attempts to cover up the spread of the disease by making excuses and questioning opponents would not prevent infection.

Shihis not alone in this view. To highlight the mayoral incumbent's lax efforts, volunteers for independent candidate Chang Po-ya (張博雅) -- who served as the head of the DOH from 1990 to 1997 -- hung a huge model of the Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that spreads the dengue virus Saturday during a press conference in downtown Kaohsiung.

Friday, at a campaign activity organized for labor supporters, Chang said academic researchers suggested that the real number of dengue fever cases could be ten times the official record, implying that more than 20,000 residents were suffering from the disease.

"Shame on the city government! Kaohsiung residents' relatives who live elsewhere are reluctant to visit because of the disease," Chang said, implying that the disease had already become an obstacle to the city's development.

During an interview with the Taipei Times last week, Chang said that Hsieh had been very irresponsible because he was dodging the problem by crying foul.

"The criticism of Hsieh's failure to prevent dengue has been labeled as political ploy by Hsieh's camp. How can Kaohsiung residents benefit from this attitude?" Chang asked.

Chang, who holds a Master's degree in public health from the Johns Hopkins University, stressed that wiping out breeding grounds was crucial to eradicating mosquitoes.

"If I head the city government, every month I will organize a day of action against dengue and slow the growth of mosquito populations," Chang said.

As the number of dengue fever cases began increasing sharply during the summer, KMT candidate Huang Jun-ying (黃俊英), Hsieh's major opponent, noticed a dramatic drop in hotel room reservations.

According to Huang, the Grand Hotel sitting on the outskirts of the city lost 20 percent of its summer business and the net earnings of a popular youth hostel near Cheng Ching Lake (澄清湖) this summer was NT$2 million less than last year's summer earnings.

"You can't deny the link between the disease and the drop inlocal tourism," Cheng Shih-shi (鄭世熙), spokesman of Huang's camp, told the Taipei Times.

Reportedly, beginning this week, the city government is not going to update the number of reported dengue fever cases.

"If so, how is the city government going to keep the public informed about the disease?" Cheng asked.

Huang said yesterday that if he heads the city government, he would establish notification systems on dengue fever soon to keep the public informed.