Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) on Monday proposed measures to protect the city, which was hit worst by its dengue fever epidemic last year, from future outbreaks, including setting up a national agency on dengue fever control and prevention.
An investigation into the outbreak found that it was caused by a water shortage early last year that led to many residents storing water in their homes, creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes that spread the disease, Lai said.
Other factors that contributed to the spread of the disease were high temperatures and heavy rainfall during summer; two powerful typhoons that made it difficult to control the spread of mosquitoes; and the Tainan City Government’s lack of manpower and resources, Lai said.
He urged the central government to adopt measures proposed by the city administration to control and prevent dengue fever outbreaks.
One of the measures envisions the establishment of a national dengue fever control and prevention institute in southern Taiwan, while another seeks to revise the regulations on epidemic disease control and prevention so that those with dengue fever can be forcibly kept at home, Lai said.
The city government is to urge the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to run dengue fever scans on inbound passengers coming from areas affected by dengue fever, and to incorporate rapid dengue fever diagnostic tests into the health checks performed on foreign workers entering the nation for the first time, he added.
The measures are necessary, as it was discovered that the main culprit behind last years’ outbreak was a new dengue fever type 2 strain that originated from Indonesia, Lai said, without elaborating on how the strain made its way to Tainan.
Another proposed measure is an initiative to inform the public about bottle and can recycling systems, and a request for the Environmental Protection Administration to reconsider the existing system, he said.
The measures also include having the Ministry of the Interior launch a study on the architectural structure of buildings in southern regions that have water storage facilities, and urging the Ministry of Education to train specialists on insect-borne diseases.
The city recorded 22,752 reported cases of dengue fever between May 21 last year — when the first confirmed case was reported — and the end of last month, Tainan Department of Health Director Lin Sheng-che (林聖哲) said, adding that, of those who were infected, 112 people died.
CDC statistics released on Monday showed that the total number of confirmed dengue fever infections reached 43,280 cases nationwide between May last year and Monday, with 22,756 cases in Tainan and 19,597 in Kaohsiung.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS