The first local case of dengue fever reported in Taipei on Thursday was linked to a cluster of cases in New Taipei City, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday as it reminded people to wear protective clothing while cleaning up flooding and to remove standing water.
The Taipei Department of Health said that the first local dengue case in the city was a man in his 70s who was living in Wenshan District (文山), and that the man did not visit another country or New Taipei City recently, so the source of infection is unknown.
The man began experiencing symptoms, including fever, muscle soreness and nausea late last month, and was tested for dengue when he sought medical treatment, which came back positive on Thursday, it said.
Photo: CNA
The centers conducted virus genome sequencing on the dengue case in Taipei, and found that it shared the same viral sequence as a cluster of cases in New Taipei City, indicating a shared source of infection, CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesperson Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said yesterday.
Although the man in Taipei did not recently visit New Taipei City’s Jhonghe (中和) or Sindian (新店) districts, where the cluster of cases was reported, there is a vegetable garden near his home, which was visited by a confirmed dengue case in Jhonghe, he said.
The Taipei Department of Health and the CDC’s mobile task force sent inspectors to the farm, who found mosquito breeding sources on-site, Lo said, adding that the health department conducted a cleanup, sprayed insecticide and put up a “dengue high-risk area” sign at the entrance.
“A total of 62 local dengue cases have been reported from late last month to yesterday, and they were all determined to be from the same cluster in Jhonghe and Sindian districts,” Lo said, adding that they all had dengue virus serotype 2.
No severe illnesses or deaths have occurred so far.
Meanwhile, after Typhoon Krathon brought heavy rain and flooding to many areas across the nation, the CDC said there are increased risks of getting leptospirosis, melioidosis, dengue fever or intestinal infectious disease from direct contact with contaminated water or mosquito breeding areas.
People are advised to wear waterproof protective clothing, gloves, closed shoes or boots, and a face mask when cleaning up after flooding; watch out for sharp objects that could cause injuries; drink only thoroughly boiled or bottled water; and throw away food contaminated by floodwater and perishable foods that have thawed.
Kitchenware and utensils touched by floodwater should be disinfected by immersing them in boiling water or rinsing them with liquid chlorine bleach before being used, the CDC said, adding that people can also maintain hand hygiene by using sanitizers with an alcohol concentration of 60 to 95 percent during water outages.
In addition, the “patrol (one’s environment), empty (containers and ditches with standing water), clean and scrub” measures for eliminating mosquito breeding sources are crucial in the week following a typhoon, the CDC said, urging people to remove standing water as soon as possible.
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