Department of Health, Taipei City Government

In response to yesterday’s (October 3) announcement of the first endemic case of Dengue Fever in Taipei City by the Department of Health, Deputy Mayor Yi-Hua Lin and Commissioner Chien-Hua Huang visited the Jinghua Park and surrounding neighborhoods in Wenshan District in the afternoon of today (October 4) to inspect Dengue Fever prevention efforts within the community.

Deputy Major Lin began by relaying the directive from Mayor Wan-An Chiang: Dengue Fever is transmitted from mosquitos and is what’s known as a “community-acquired” or “environmental” infectious disease. To prevent the spread of the Dengue Fever epidemic and protect the health of citizens, the Mayor has urged the District Offices to integrate relevant units in the district to form task force and mobilize the communities to clear any sources of standing water—breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Deputy Mayor Lin stated that after the first endemic Dengue Fever case was confirmed during the evening of October 2, the District Office of Wenshan District immediately put together a District-level task force, with the District Director taking the lead to coordinate agencies such as the District Office, Sanitation Teams, Health Service Centers, Police Precincts and Household Registration Office to collaborate on Dengue Fever prevention. As the confirmed case’s residence and areas of activities expand across the Jingdong, Jingxing and Jinghua Neighborhoods, Deputy Mayor Lin expressed her gratitude to the Village Chiefs of these three neighborhoods for mobilizing the residents of these communities and volunteers to quickly clear away mosquito breeding sources and demonstrate dynamic community autonomy.

Deputy Mayor Lin further elaborated that the source of this first endemic case of Dengue Fever was unknown. The risk of Dengue Fever outbreak has elevated due to recent cross-border transmission cases, community cluster events in Zhonghe and Xindian Districts of New Taipei City, and increased rainfalls due to incoming typhoons. She called on the citizens to check and empty any outdoor sources of standing water and clean them thoroughly to prevent vector mosquitoes from breeding.

Commissioner Chien-Hua Huang reminded citizens that the latent period of Dengue Fever is anywhere from 3 to 14 days. When indicative symptoms such as fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, skeletal pain, joint pain, rashes, nausea or abdominal pain develop, citizens should immediately seek medical attention and inform the physician of any travel and activity history to allow early diagnosis and treatment.

Commissioner Huang also reminded those citizens that spend a long time in parks, mountain regions, farms or have plans to travel abroad to regions where Dengue Fever is endemic to adopt proper mosquito prevention measures, such as wearing lighter-colored and loose, long-sleeved clothing and pants, and using government-approved mosquito repellents containing ingredients such as DEET, Picaridin or IR-3535 to reduce the risk of mosquito bites and disease transmission. Mosquito repellent should be re-applied as required, such as when there are mosquitoes or bugs swarming nearby. For more information on Dengue Fever prevention, visit the Dengue Fever section of the Taipei City Government Department of Health’s official website, or call the Taipei City epidemic prevention hotline at (02) 2375-3782 for inquiries.