Dengue outbreak tops 10,000 in Taiwan

With the additional 522 indigenous dengue cases reported yesterday, the case count in the Taiwan dengue fever epidemic has eclipsed the 10,000 mark, according to the country’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The new cases reported Tuesday include 437 cases in Tainan City, 78 cases in Kaohsiung City, 3 cases in Taipei City, and 1 case each in Hsinchu County, Hsinchu City, Taichung City and Yunlin County.

The tally, as of this writing, is 10,384, with 9,103 from Tainan and 1,108 from Kaohsiung.

A cumulative total of 18 deaths were found to be linked with dengue infection. 36 deaths, including 33 from Tainan City, 2 from Kaohsiung City, and 1 from Pingtung County, are still waiting to be reviewed.

In a meeting of The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) for dengue fever Tuesday, Premier Mao Chi-kuo said the government will set up a firewall to contain the disease’s spread and allocate resources according to its prevalence.

“The concept of a firewall [surrounding the disease source] should be introduced, and we should allocate manpower and material resources accordingly to these different areas,” Mao said.

To implement patient classification and integrate health care services, the CECC for Dengue Outbreak will the World Health Organization’s classification for dengue cases to classify patients into Group A, B and C to deal with the surge of patients in some hospitals beginning September 17, 2015. In addition, six medical centers will form a medical care advisory committee to advise the hospitals in Tainan City about the appropriate administration of health and medical care services in order to classify, diagnose and treat patients accordingly.

In addition, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) sent four medical officers to station at 4 Dengue Treatment Centers to assist in the diagnosis of dengue patients and offer recommendations. The National Health Insurance Administration will be in charge of claiming the expenses of dengue NS1 antigen test, which will be subsidized by Taiwan CDC’s budget.

Robert Herriman is a microbiologist and the Editor-in-Chief of Outbreak News Today and the Executive Editor of The Global Dispatch

Follow @bactiman63

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