The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a warning after Taiwan on Monday reported this year’s first case of Japanese encephalitis.
The case is a man in his 50s from Tainan’s Beimen District (北門), the CDC said.
He on June 7 developed a fever, followed by limpness in the lower body two days later, the health agency said, adding that he was diagnosed on Monday.
Photo courtesy of the Tainan City Government
The man did not recently leave the country or travel within Taiwan, the CDC said.
He mostly stayed near his residence, which is near rice paddies and pig pens, and most likely contracted the disease locally, it said.
The CDC has instructed the man to clean potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes on his premises, it said.
He was told to clean his pig pen and install mosquito-catching lamps, the CDC added.
Japanese encephalitis season is from May to October, with case numbers usually peaking in June and July, the agency said.
The disease is usually transmitted through bites by Culex tritaeniorhynchus, C annulus and C fuscocephala, it said.
Those mosquito species breed in rice paddies, ponds and irrigation channels, and mostly bite in the evening, the CDC said.
Taiwan from 2018 to last year had 37, 21, 21, and 28 cases respectively, and most patients were in their 40s or older, although all age groups are equally at risk, it said.
Most cases are asymptomatic, but some cases develop a headache, a fever, or aseptic meningitis, the CDC said.
Severe cases might develop general weakness, paralysis, fall into a coma or experience cognitive changes, including time disorientation and inability to identify familiar people or places, it said, adding that the disease is rarely fatal. The CDC urged people to avoid going out when mosquitoes are active.
Those living near mosquito breeding grounds should bolster mosquito prevention measures and get vaccinated against the disease, it added.
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