As of Monday, a total of 878 dengue fever infections have been reported in the Taiwan this year, including 120 imported and 758 locally acquired cases, with 26 new cases reported every day on average since Aug. 12 alone, according to a Focus Taiwan report today.
Taiwan has seen an 11-year high in indigenous dengue fever cases this summer. During the same period in 2013, only 70 dengue fever cases.
In addition, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed that dengue hemorrhagic fever has claimed its first victim in the nation this year. The victim, a 76-year-old woman from Greater Kaohsiung’s Lingya District who had a medical history of high blood pressure and diabetes.
“She had blood in her stool and began suffering gastrointestinal bleeding shortly after being admitted to a local hospital. She died of severe shock and multiple organ failure on Saturday,” health officials said. “New cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever are expected to increase in the city during the disease’s annual peak period. People in the high-risk group, such as those with high blood pressure, are urged to take particular heed of their physical condition and step up their mosquito control measures,” the health agency said.
Dengue fever is an infectious disease carried by mosquitoes and caused by any of four related dengue viruses. This disease used to be called “break-bone fever” because it sometimes causes severe joint and muscle pain that feels like bones are breaking.
People get the dengue virus from the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. It is not contagious from person to person. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page
There are three types of dengue fever in order of less severe to most: the typical uncomplicated dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHS) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). Looking for a job in health care? Check here to see what’s available
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there may be 50–100 million dengue infections worldwide every year. However, new research from the University of Oxford and the Wellcome Trust, using cartographic approaches, estimate there to be 390 million dengue infections per year worldwide.
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