Rapid dengue fever screening tests to check for possible infection of inbound passengers are to be implemented at international airports starting from next year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
“Test results for dengue fever inspections at airports used to take about one to two days to be made available, and it would sometimes take another day or two to contact passengers who tested positive. However, the new screening test can produce results in 20 to 30 minutes,” CDC Deputy Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) said.
The centers said its health screening stations at the nation’s international airports performed tests on 2,043 passengers in 2013, 1,632 passengers last year and 2,060 passengers this year up to last month, confirming 108, 118 and 146 dengue infection cases respectively.
Passengers suspected of having dengue fever include those who have a body temperature higher than 38oC upon arrival at an airport and who have arrived from dengue endemic areas, Chou said, adding that dengue endemic areas roughly include nations “located between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn,” but mainly “southeast Asian nations where dengue cases are commonly reported.”
Passengers who are suspected of dengue fever infection are obligated to take the screening test, which is conducted via a blood sample. Those who refuse to take the test face a fine of between NT$10,000 and NT$150,000 for breaching the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法), Chou said.
Passengers who produce positive tests results are to receive educational information about dengue fever and free insect repellent, he said, adding that confirmed cases are reported to local health departments so they can take preventive measures.
The CDC said it has prepared 3,000 rapid test kits to be used at airports next year and estimated that the tests would confirm at least 150 cases of dengue fever infection.
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