The New York Times
Date September 15, 2015
By: Austin Ramzy  4:31 am September 15, 2015 4:31 am

The incidence of dengue fever in Taiwan has risen sharply in recent days, pushing the

A soldier spraying a house with insecticide to combat the mosquitoes spreading dengue fever in Tainan County in southern Taiwan.Credit Taiwan Military News Agency/European Pressphoto Agency

number of cases since May close to 10,000, the country’s Centers for Disease Control reported on Tuesday. The government announced on Monday that it was creating a central command office to combat the rapid increase in the disease, which has been concentrated in the southern cities of Tainan and Kaohsiung.

The recent increase follows the worst summer for dengue fever in more than a decade on the island. Taiwan had more than 4,000 dengue cases from May 1 through August, the highest number for the period since systematic record keeping began in 2003, the Central News Agency reported. The cases have more than doubled since Sept. 1.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease that causes fever, headaches, nausea, and joint and muscle pain. In severe cases, it can lead to dengue hemorrhagic fever, which is characterized by severe bleeding and circulatory system failures. It is particularly dangerous for children and can lead to death, though with proper medical care, less than 1 percent of cases cause fatalities, according to the World Health Organization.     [FULL  STORY]