The government is planning to establish a national insect-borne disease research institute in Tainan in the first half of this year to fight diseases which are spread by insects, including dengue fever and the Zika virus, the Executive Yuan said yesterday.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) said that as a Zika virus outbreak has spread worldwide, with cases reported in 35 nations, the number of dengue fever cases reported in Taiwan in the past few years has also increased dramatically.
Both dengue fever and the Zika virus are transmitted to people primarily by mosquito bites, Chou said, adding that other mosquito-borne diseases include malaria and Chikungunya fever.
Chu said a malaria prevention research institute was established in Pingtung in 1946 to fight a malaria outbreak, which allowed Taiwan to become the first nation in the western Pacific to eradicate malaria, adding that the nation did not experience a dengue fever outbreak for more than 40 years.
However, as mosquito-borne diseases have again become a threat, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has proposed the establishment of the institute in Tainan.
More than 40,000 dengue fever cases, including more than 200 deaths, were reported between May and December last year.
Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) proposed a dengue fever prevention research center in southern Taiwan in November last year and again last month, and proposed the idea to new Premier Simon Chang (張善政) earlier this month.
Minister Without Portfolio Chung Char-dir (鐘嘉德) yesterday called a cross-ministerial meeting to discuss the matter, concluding that the institute should be established in the first half of the year and serve as a long-term national research institute specifically for studying insect-borne diseases.
Chung said that, in the meantime, the institute would be affiliated with the National Health Research Institute and located at the former Tainan Air Base hospital, with more details to be confirmed after a meeting scheduled for the end of the month.
The institute plans to establish an improved early warning system, train technical personnel and draw up a comprehensive prevention plan, Chung said.
The ministry said it plans to recruit specialists and academics in entomology, insect molecular biology, environmental ecology, epidemiology, preventive medicine and immunology to conduct research at the institute.
Chung said the establishment act and final location would be decided by the new government after it is inaugurated on May 20
Additional reporting by Chung Li-hua and CNA
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