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Kaohsiung County reports first indigenous dengue case

Kaohsiung County reported its first confirmed case of indigenous dengue fever this summer yesterday.

County Health Bureau Director Huang Chih-chung (黃志中) said the patient was a middle-aged woman who lives in Tzukuan Township (梓官) and works in Kaohsiung City’s Nanzih District (楠梓).

Based on a preliminary investigation, it was unlikely that the infection originated at the woman’s home, Huang said, adding that Kaohsiung City had been informed of the case in hopes that its health bureau would carry out inspections and perform prevention work near her workplace, Huang said.

Kaohsiung City has reported 22 confirmed cases of indigenous dengue fever this year, with another 30 suspected cases awaiting confirmation, Huang said.

Huang urged the public and doctors to be on the alert against the disease and to empty standing water containers to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes, as the county’s Breteau index of dengue vector mosquito density tends to be high.

Huang said the county’s four townships have reached up to six or seven on the index as a result of Tropical Storm Kalmaegi, which swept through Taiwan late last week. A level three index is considered a dengue outbreak alert, with the situation worsening as the index rises.

Tainan City also faces a dengue threat, as the city’s 50 boroughs and districts showed a Breteau index level of three or higher, with 21 of them reading four or higher in an index survey conducted from June 15 to July 19, a Tainan City official said.

Tainan City also reported a case of dengue fever yesterday in a male professor at National Cheng Kung University.

The man began showing symptoms of dengue fever last Thursday and has since received medical treatment, the Tainan City official said, adding that further examination would help determine whether the man was infected with a new strain of virus.

Typical symptoms of dengue fever include headache, nausea, fatigue and joint soreness or pains, which could easily be mistaken for flu symptoms, the official said.
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