Just one week after Taiwanese health officials “hopefully”predicted the dengue outbreak could end in September and stated they could see the “end of the tunnel”, it appears they have changed their tune in light of the surge in cases in recent days, including the 622 new cases reported yesterday.

UntitledAccording to local media today, the country’s dengue outbreak is unlikely to ease up until next January, a little change of position compared to a week ago.

Health officials are now predicting the outbreak could rise into the 30,000 to 40,000 range. This would by far break the record for dengue fever in Taiwan by a large margin (some 15,000 cases reported last year).

The CDC reported that as of Wednesday, Taiwan has reported 11,006 cases including 10,800 cases in the two southern cities of Tainan and Kaohsiung.

The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) for Dengue Outbreak stresses that as eliminating vector breeding sources remains the most fundamental way to prevent dengue fever, the public is once again urged to reinforce the removing of vector-breeding sites in and around their residences to lower the risk of infection.

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

Follow @bactiman63

Related: