Due to cases of indigenous dengue fever that have appeared locally in Taipei City, Pingtung County and Kaohsiung City, the Centers for Disease Control is urging the public to clear out mosquito breeding sources after heavy rains, as well as encouraging the medical community to be more vigilant 

A total of 7 newly confirmed local cases of indigenous dengue fever were announced by the Centers for Disease Control last week (August 27 to September 1), with Taipei City and Pingtung County each having 3 confirmed cases and Kaohsiung City one, as well as another 7 cases due to traveling abroad. After investigations carried out by the Department of Health, it was found that patients from the 3 cases that appeared last week in Taipei City, resided in the area stretching from Daan District to Nangang District, and their area of movement also included Zhongzheng District. The patients from the first 2 indigenous dengue fever cases that occurred in Taipei City this year also resided and moved about Zhongzheng District and Xinyi District. In order to prevent the spread of the epidemic, the Department of Health started working on various strategies, like investigating sources of infections and mosquito population density, as well as clearing breeding sources and performing chemical insect control. The Centers for Disease Control said that the increasing mosquito population density is due to the densely populated Taipei metropolitan area and residual water left behind after heavy rains. These factors might also cause the mosquito breeding rate to rise and create a wider spread of mosquitoes. Therefore, the public should make sure that residual water is cleared from various indoor and outdoor containers, and they should also carry out preventive measures. Furthermore, the medical community should be on high alert and notify the authority as soon as possible when a patient with dengue fever is found, in order to prevent the spread of the epidemic. 
The new indigenous dengue fever cases of last week, with respect to residence, included 2 from Chaozhou Township (Guanghua Village) and 1 from Xinpi Township (Wanlong Village), totaling 3 in Pingtung County. Taipei had 3 cases, including 2 cases from Daan District (Hean Village) and another 1 from Nangang District (Xinguang Village). Kaohsiung reported 1 case originating from Sanmin District (Wanzi Village). From the start of the dengue fever season until September 1, there had been a total of 76 local cases of dengue fever, including 69 from Pingtung County (36 from Chunri Township, 13 from Chaozhou Township, 11 from Xinyuan Township, 7 from Pingtung City and 2 from Xinpi Township), 5 from Taipei City and 2 from Kaohsiung City. Furthermore, there have been 177 confirmed cases of dengue fever infections due to overseas traveling this year. 
The Centers for Disease Control stated that even though indigenous dengue fever had a greater concentration in southern Taiwan in the past, mosquitoes carrying the dengue fever were distributed all over Taiwan. Coupled with the 177 imported cases of dengue fever infections throughout 18 counties and cities across the entire country, with a large concentration of cases in metropolitan areas such as Taipei City, New Taipei City, Taoyuan County, Taichung City, Tainan City, Kaohsiung City, the epidemic has caused the Centers for Disease Control to call upon the medical community of Taiwan to be more vigilant when it comes to cases of suspected dengue fever symptoms. In such cases, doctors should inquire about the patients travel history and area of movement and activity in order to facilitate early notification and the correct diagnosis and treatment. 
According to collected documentation, some symptoms of dengue fever are not obvious, but if an infected person is bitten by a mosquito during the viremia stage, it may result in an outbreak within the community. The Centers for Disease Control continuously urges the public to always check if their houses indoor and outdoor environment is cleared of possible mosquito breeding sources, and to recycle unwanted containers in order to reduce the mosquito population density and prevent the transmission of dengue fever within the community. 
For the latest information on dengue fever outbreak and other information, please visit the Centers for Disease Controls website (http://www.cdc.gov.tw) or call the toll-free prevention hotline at 1922 (or 0800-001922).