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Kaohsiung battling to contain spread of dengue fever with 113 confirmed cases

The Kaohsiung City Government is having difficulties containing an outbreak of dengue fever, with the confirmed number of infections climbing to 113 cases yesterday.

Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) yesterday urged residents to report to the city’s Department of Health if any of their family members developed high fever.

Chen said the measure was critical to avoid group infection, following the release of government statistics showing that five out of 10 new cases of dengue fever were family members who live together.

Several neighbors of a family of eight living in Chinping Borough (錦屏) in Nanzih District (楠梓) were found to have been infected with the disease.

The number of cases in the southern city has been rising since the summer despite the city government’s efforts to clean up the environment.

The majority of the cases were still concentrated in Nanzih.

Chen Chao-tung (陳朝東), a section chief at the health department, said the department would intensify disinfection procedures in the neighborhood where the new cases were found.

However, some people who have been stricken by the fever refuse to stay home or have their surroundings disinfected, with some even hiding information about the places they live in, Chen Chao-tung said.

The section chief said that several of the new cases in Nanzih were caused by people visiting friends who had fallen ill.
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