The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday announced the first cluster of dengue fever cases to affect a university campus this year, with four students at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Tainan confirmed to have the disease.
The first of the four cases was a man in his 30s living in Dasyue Borough (大學) of Tainan’s East District (東區), who on Wednesday last week was confirmed to have dengue virus serotype 3 (DENV-3), the first DENV-3 case in the nation this year, the CDC said.
Three new cases were confirmed yesterday, including two indigenous dengue cases — a teenager living in Dongsing Borough (東興) of North District (北區) and a woman in her 20s living in Dasyue, neither of whom had traveled abroad recently — and another in Dasyue involving a man in his 20s, with the case brought in from outside Tainan.
The woman was confirmed to have a DENV-3 infection, the centers said.
The man in his 20s visited a country where dengue cases have been reported and returned to Taiwan on Sept. 10, the centers said.
He reported symptoms including fever, fatigue and loss of appetite on Sept. 12, but did not seek treatment, the CDC said.
He was confirmed to have the disease on Saturday, it said.
The man in his 30s was mostly in Dongsing and Dasyue during the estimated time of infection, while the teen and the woman were mostly in Dasyue, so the three cases are possibly linked, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said.
The fourth case was propably imported, Lo said.
Tainan Public Health Bureau Director Chen Yi (陳怡) said the four students had frequented NCKU’s Tzu-Chiang campus, dorms and been on Yule Street over the past few weeks, so school staff, students and nearby residents should watch for possible symptoms of dengue, including fever or muscle or joint pain, and seek medical attention immediately rather than self-medicating.
The bureau implemented chemical controls in the area on Wednesday and would continue to work with NCKU on vector control measures, the CDC said, adding that a careful watch for new cases would be maintained through Oct. 29.
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