Taiwan News
Date: 2015-09-16
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The death toll of this summer’s outbreak of dengue fever reached

Dengue fever death toll reaches 25. Taiwan News

25 Wednesday, with last year’s record of 28 deaths likely to be broken.

Following a death toll of 18, 11 recent deaths were investigated for their connection to the disease, and seven of those were confirmed as having been caused by dengue fever, the health authorities said.

At the same time last year, only five people had died, while by the end of 2014, 28 deaths had been announced as the result of dengue fever. All but one of them had been recorded in Kaohsiung, with the other one in Tainan.

This year, it is Tainan which has been the hardest hit, with more than 9,000 of the 10,000 cases confirmed so far being located in the southern city. Efforts to fight the spread of the disease have been caught up in a war of words between the Kuomintang-led central government and the Democratic Progressive Party-controlled city government of Mayor William Lai.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/15
By: Chen Cheng-wei, Huang Kuo-feng and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Sept. 15 (CNA) Two duck farms in Yunlin County have been confirmed as having

CNA file photo

been infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza subtype H5N2 and will be culled, the Bureau of Animal Health Inspection and Quarantine said Tuesday.

The two farms have 7,200 and 1,700 ducks, respectively.

Yunlin animal disease control officials will follow a set procedure to carry out the cull and monitor the farmers in their cleaning and disinfection work to mitigate the risk of the virus spreading.

The bureau also noted that one goose farm in Tainan and one in Chiayi County have reported unusually high death rates among their poultry and suspect avian flu infection.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-09-15
By: CNA and Staff Reporter

The number of dengue fever cases recorded since the start of summer in Taiwan has risen

A health worker sprays pesticide in Taitung, Sept. 15. (Photo/CNA)

to 9,862 as the potentially deadly disease continues to spread on the island, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday.

The latest figure represents an increase of 296 cases from the previous day.

As of Monday, 8,666 cases had been reported in the southern municipality of Tainan and 1,030 in neighboring Kaohsiung, according to CDC figures. The cases are overwhelmingly in the tropical southern half of the island.

In Tainan alone, infections increased by 237 from the previous day.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: 2015-09-14
By: CNA

The number of dengue fever cases recorded in Taiwan since May has increased to 9,566,

A health worker sprays pesticide in Miaoli county, Sept. 14. (Photo/CNA)

with 98.35% of the infections occurring in the southern cities of Tainan and Kaohsiung, the country’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Monday.

The latest figure represents an increase of 463 cases from the previous day.

On Sunday, an increase of 407 cases was reported in Tainan from the previous day, bringing the southern city’s total to 8,429, according to the CDC. In neighboring Kaohsiung, the number had increased to 980, compared with 936 the day before, the CDC said.

By Sunday, the total number of dengue cases in the two cities in Taiwan’s tropical south had reached 9,409, the CDC said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-09-12
By: Jocylin FC, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Mid autumn festival, one of the most important holidays of Chinese culture, is coming up in

Photo courtesy of Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan

less than two weeks. It is the time when most Taiwanese celebrate the festival with BBQ parties and beers. However, Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) warned against the adverse effects of excessive meat consumption because the average Taiwanese consumes triple to 7 times of recommended meat consumption limit.

The Ministry of Health’s nutrition guideline suggests an average adult only need to intake 70grams of processed meat a day. Therefore, it should only be 580,000 tons of meat consumed a year. However, 1.48 million tons were consumed according to the Council of Agriculture, excluding the quantity of imported meat.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/12
By: Chen Wei-ting and Y.F. Low

Taipei, Sept. 12 (CNA) The number of dengue fever cases recorded since the

A health department worker sprays pesticide in a household yesterday in this photo provided by Chiayi’s Health Department.  (CNA)

start of summer in Taiwan has risen to 8,677 as the potentially deadly disease continues to spread on the island, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Saturday.

As of Friday, 7,660 cases had been reported in the southern municipality of Tainan, 885 in neighboring Kaohsiung, and 28 in Pingtung, according to CDC figures.

The number of cases reported in these three localities accounts for 98.8 percent of the national total.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/11
By: Chang Jung-hsiang and Jay Chen

Taipei, Sept. 11 (CNA) The number of dengue fever cases recorded since the start of the

CNA file photo

summer in Taiwan has increased to 8,060, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Friday.

As of Thursday, 7,130 cases had been reported in the southern municipality of Tainan and 808 in neighboring Kaohsiung, according to CDC figures. The number of cases reported in these two major cities — 7,938 — accounts for nearly 98.5 percent of the national total.

In Tainan alone, the number of cases increased by 554, a new high for a single day, the CDC said. It increased by 507 over the previous 24-hour period.

The outbreak in Tainan continues to escalate instead of abating, the CDC said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/10
By: Keoni Everington

Taipei, Sept. 10 (CNA) The dengue fever epidemic in Taiwan has now climbed to over 7,000 cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

With the rapid spread of the disease, there has been a second epidemic — a proliferation of old wives tales, false tonics and cures– but to really make a difference, you’ll need a proper understanding of the vector mosquitoes and the most effective prevention measures.

30 minute rapid screening:

The CDC is currently offering free tests for the rapid diagnosis of dengue fever in Tainan and Kaohsiung, which only take 20-30 minutes to show the results. A single line indicates no infection, while two lines signify a positive result for the disease. Rapid screening is not considered necessary for those who do not have any clinical symptoms of the disease.     [FULL  STORY]