The first indigenous case of Japanese encephalitis infection in Pingtung County this year was confirmed yesterday, indicating a spread of the disease to the nation’s southernmost county.
The patient, a 50-year-old woman from Pingtung City, was being treated at a general ward in a Pingtung hospital, the county’s Public Health Bureau said in statement.
The woman developed a headache on June 12 and went to the emergency room of a local hospital for treatment and then returned home, the county said.
However, she went back to the hospital on June 15 with a fever and was admitted, it said. Four days later she was put into an intensive care ward after losing consciousness.
The hospital on June 20 reported the case as a suspected Japanese encephalitis infection and sent samples to a laboratory.
On Thursday, the Centers for Diseases Control (CDC) confirmed that the results were positive, the bureau said. The CDC announced five additional Japanese encephalitis cases in Taiwan, urging the public to take precautions against mosquito bites and ensure that children are vaccinated.
According to CDC statistics compiled for the week from June 30 to Monday, the five new cases included one each in New Taipei City, Miaoli County, Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung.
As of Monday, 15 Japanese encephalitis cases had been confirmed in the nation, with the majority reported in southern areas.
According to CDC data, the transmission of Japanese encephalitis in Taiwan occurs annually between May and October and usually peaks in June and July.
The CDC advised people to avoid visiting mosquito-breeding sites at dawn and dusk, when mosquitoes are most active, adding that pigs are a common host of the virus and people should avoid pigpens.
The confirmed case in Pingtung is said to live within 2km of a pig farm, and measures have been taken to clean sources of mosquitoes around the patient’s residence, the CDC said.
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