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Northern Taiwan facing more dengue fever cases

By Meggie Lu and Mo Yan-Chih
STAFF REPORTERS
Friday, Aug 22, 2008, Page 2

Northern Taiwan may be facing a rare outbreak of dengue fever, with 15 cases diagnosed, 14 of them residents of Shezidao (社子島) in Taipei’s Shilin District (士林), the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.

The CDC said, however, that an epidemic is unlikely, as the infected area has been identified and controlled.

“Earlier last week, the DOH received a report from a local hospital when a couple was diagnosed with dengue fever; after an expanded examination, we found eight of their neighbors to also be infected, while another case was found at a hospital … This brought the total number of cases to 11,” CDC deputy chief Shih Wen-yi (施文儀) said.

Yesterday, four more cases of infection in Taipei were identified, Shih said, adding that while three of them were also residents of Shezidao, the remaining case was someone who had traveled to the district to exercise.

“Since Shezidao is next to a biking trail adjacent to the Tamsui and Keelung rivers, many people go there to exercise by biking, walking, jogging or doing tai chi,” Shih said.

Dengue fever is an acute febrile disease spread by the Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, and causes fever, severe headache, muscle pains and rashes; in severe cases bleeding from the mouth or nose or dengue shock syndrome, which can be fatal, is also possible.

Asked about the implication of a dengue fever epidemic in Taipei, Shih said that “preliminary evaluations revealed that the viral strain is the same as those found in Cambodia and Vietnam … We will investigate whether someone in the neighborhood had traveled there recently as the virus may have been imported.”

Shih said Taipei residents should be cautious but not panic, as the CDC as well as the city government is working on controlling the situation.

“As we have not found Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the region, the epidemic control remains promising,” Shih said. “One of the main reasons why dengue fever is rarely seen in northern Taiwan is that Aedes aegypti do not typically survive north of the Tropic of Cancer.”

This is good news for Shezidao residents, as “while female Aedes aegypti can bite several humans or other mammals for blood to sustain their pregnancies, Aedes albopictus takes longer draws of blood from one or two individuals … As such, the disease distributed by the latter mosquito would see a smaller spread,” Shih said.

However, those residing in or traveling to the area are still advised to wear long-sleeve garments as well as use mosquito spray, he said, adding that the city government had done a clean up and anti-bug spraying last week and will thoroughly clean the area again this weekend to exterminate the mosquitoes.

The city government last Saturday and Sunday dispatched staff to spray insecticide indoors and outdoors in areas within 200m of residences of people with confirmed cases of dengue fever, while conducting additional outdoor spraying in 10 boroughs near the infected areas.

Taipei City Health Department Commissioner Allen Chiu (邱文祥) yesterday said the city government would again spray in Shezidao and in specific spots such as gutters in other districts tomorrow and on Sunday in an attempt to eliminate disease-carrying mosquitoes.

The department will check households and issue fines ranging from NT$60,000 (US$1,900) to NT$300,000 if residents fail to follow the department’s guidelines, he said.

If there are no new confirmed cases after the spraying this weekend, Chiu said the epidemic alert in Shezidao would probably be lifted.
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