Taiwan suffers deadliest ever dengue outbreak

Yahoo News
Date: Sep 24, 2015
By: AFP

Taipei (AFP) – Taiwan is suffering its deadliest ever outbreak of mosquito-borne dengue fever with a record high of 42 deaths, authorities said Thursday, double the number that died in 2014.

Last year saw 15,732 cases — by far the highest in nearly three decades — with this year shaping up to overtake.

The total number of cases for 2015 has already hit 15,282, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) said, the majority of them in southern Tainan City.

Unusually hot weather has caused the increase, the CDC said.

High temperatures and humidity encourage breeding of mosquitos, which is why countries with tropical climates — including Taiwan — tend to be plagued by dengue fever every year.

“This year saw temperatures in Tainan and (the southern region of) Kaohsiung at their highest in 30 years,” Chuang Jen-hsiang, CDC’s deputy director, told AFP.     [FULL  STORY]