Health officials from around the nation gathered yesterday at the Kaohsiung City Hall to review efforts to prevent and control dengue fever outbreaks.
The annual event was held three months early this year after an increase in the occurrence the mosquito-borne disease so far this year.
Sstatistics compiled by the Department of Health, the meeting's organizer, show that 16 indigenous cases of dengue were recorded from Jan. 1 to Tuesday and a further 22 cases were contracted abroad.
It is necessary to hold the meeting ahead schedule, said Lin Ting (
Lin also said that WHO data indicated an increasing number of dengue outbreaks in countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Taiwan needs to be well prepared to face a possible outbreak of dengue fever and to strengthen its monitoring of transmission vectors for the disease.
The meeting was presided over by health department chief Hou Sheng-mou (
Taiwan has been successful in stemming outbreaks of dengue fever in the past, most obviously in Kaohsiung County, one of the most dengue-affected areas of the country.
In 2002, the county was hit by more than 1,900 dengue cases, but five years later, only 185 cases were reported, the health department said.
Dengue fever is a flu-like viral disease spread by infected mosquitoes, which often breed in stagnant water close to human dwellings.
The disease usually begins suddenly and is characterized by high fever, rashes, severe headaches, pain behind the eyes and muscle and joint pain.
It is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. Patients may take up to a month to recover.
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