The first local dengue cases of the year were confirmed on Monday, with a cluster of four infections in Kaohsiung, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said the cases, all in Gushan District (鼓山), were infected with dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV-2).
CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said the first person was a man in his 50s who developed a fever, chills, headache and loss of appetite on Saturday and tested positive for dengue the following day after seeking medical treatment.
Photo: CNA
Contact tracing identified two family members — a woman in her 50s and a man in his 20s — who also tested positive for DENV-2, as well as a neighbor who had direct contact with them, Lin said.
All four people are hospitalized in general wards with mosquito-control measures in place, and their conditions are stable, he added.
CDC Deputy Director-General and spokeswoman Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑惠) said that this year’s first local dengue cases appeared relatively late — the latest in a decade. In previous years, the first local case was often reported in June or July, or even as early as late May, with outbreaks typically lasting into October.
Although this year’s first local dengue cases appeared later than usual, it does not necessarily mean the outbreak would be milder or more severe, Tseng said
Dengue outbreaks are strongly influenced by high humidity and warm temperatures — conditions recently seen across Taiwan that are ideal for mosquito breeding — raising the risk of further local infections, she said.
The Kaohsiung City Government has set up a district command center to inspect mosquito breeding grounds near the residences and workplaces of the four confirmed patients, and to carry out mosquito control measures, she added.
For prevention, the CDC urged the public to follow the “patrol, empty, wash and brush” principle: regularly check containers indoors and outdoors, discard stagnant water from unnecessary containers, clean and reuse only what is needed, and scrub the insides thoroughly to remove mosquito eggs.
Separately, Guo said nine new cases of melioidosis, including one death, were reported last week, bringing the total to 50 this year. Four of the new patients had direct contact with floodwater or mud, and eight remain hospitalized, he said.
Six new cases of leptospirosis were also reported last week, four of which involved direct contact with floodwater or mud, Guo said, adding that one patient remains hospitalized.
As melioidosis and leptospirosis are both bacterial infections primarily transmitted through contaminated floodwater, the CDC advised people engaged in rodent control or post-flood cleanup to wear face masks, waterproof gloves and long boots, wash thoroughly with soap afterward, disinfect flood-affected objects and drink only water that has been fully boiled.
Anyone who develops a fever or related symptoms should inform their doctor about any recent contact with floodwater or animals, the agency said.
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