Dengue fever has claimed two more lives in Tainan, increasing the death toll from the tropical disease to four so far this year in the southern municipality, the city government said yesterday.
All four cases were elderly people over the age of 70 with chronic diseases, the city government said.
The two most recent deaths, which occurred over the past week, were both in the city’s Northern District (北區). One patient was a 71-year-old woman and the other a 78-year-old man.
Photo: CNA
Tainan has seen the worst outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease in the nation this summer, with 1,974 cases as of Monday, according to the Tainan Department of Health.
This year there have been 2,360 cases of dengue fever reported nationwide as of Sunday, including 36 in Taipei.
Taipei City Government Division for Disease and Control and Prevention Director Chen Shao-ching (陳少卿) said that of the 2,360 cases, 162 were “imported infections,” with patients having been infected while overseas.
Of the 162, 35 were in Taipei, making it the city with the highest number of imported cases, Chen said.
The most recent case involved a 25-year-old woman who returned to Taiwan on Aug. 10 after business trips to India and Singapore, Chen said, adding the patient developed symptoms of dengue fever on Aug. 16, including headaches, fever and muscular aches.
The patient is hospitalized and receiving treatment, Chen said, adding that city workers have sprayed pesticide in a 50m radius around the patient’s residence in Beitou District (北投) and workplace in Zhongshan District (中山).
Chen said that most of the 162 infectees contracted dengue fever when traveling in Southeast Asia, with the highest number of imported dengue fever infections coming from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
Chen said that of the 12 administrative districts in Taipei, Zhongzheng (中正) and Songshan (松山) districts have the most imported dengue fever cases, which his division believes is due to a higher number of international travelers in the districts.
Dengue fever symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, and a skin rash. In a small number of cases, the disease can develop into hemorrhagic dengue fever, which can be fatal.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said there are two major airborne vectors of dengue fever, tiger mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus) and yellow-fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti).
In northern Taiwan, tiger mosquitoes are more common, while the south has a greater number of yellow-fever mosquitoes, he said.
In recent years, risks of contracted dengue fever have increased in northern Taiwan as a result of rising temperatures due to global warming, Chuang said.
The problem might worsen in the future, although tiger mosquitoes tend to be less virulent than their southern counterparts, he added.
Officials urge people to dispose of any standing water in or near their homes to eliminate mosquito breeding sites.
Additional reporting by CNA
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