The number of dengue fever cases reported in the past four months has jumped to more than 4,000, marking the worst summer outbreak in the nation since the government started keeping systematic track of the disease in 2003, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
As of Wednesday, the total number of dengue cases reported since May 1 had reached 4,343, compared with 3,704 in the same period last year, the CDC said.
“The situation might ease up after this month if we can effectively get things under control,” CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said.
Photo: CNA
Chuang said cooler weather in autumn might slow down the breeding of mosquitoes that transmit the disease.
In Tainan, where the majority of dengue cases have been reported this year, and in Kaohsiung, control of the disease has been a challenge because of high temperatures and persistent rain, Chuang said.
Last year, Kaohsiung was a dengue fever hotspot, but the city now has a better awareness of the disease, he said.
So far this year, there have been 445 dengue cases in Kaohsiung, compared with the 3,825 cases reported in Tainan, CDC data showed.
The incidence of dengue fever in Taiwan rose sharply last year to a record 15,942 cases, compared with a maximum of 2,000 in previous years, according to CDC data.
Chuang said that, to avoid as many dengue cases this year as last year, control of the disease depends on the success of prevention efforts this month.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS