Want China Times
Date: 2015-10-08
By: CNA and Staff Reporter
The number of deaths from dengue fever in Tainan in southern Taiwan this year has
A worker spraying pesticide in Tainan, Oct. 5, 2015. (Photo/Huang Chung-yu)
exceeded those recorded nationwide in 2003 during the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the city’s Department of Health said Wednesday.
So far this year, Taiwan has confirmed 89 deaths nationwide from dengue fever, with Tainan alone recording 78, neighboring Kaohsiung nine, and the southernmost county of Pingtung two, according to the department.
The number of SARS deaths in Taiwan in the 2003 SARS outbreak totaled 73.
On Wednesday, 26 new deaths possibly linked to dengue infection were reported — 22 in Tainan and four in Kaohsiung — while 53 dengue fever patients nationwide were in intensive care.
As of Tuesday, 18,096 dengue fever cases had been reported in Tainan, the worst-hit area in the country, though the city’s health department said the rate of infection has been slowing. [FULL STORY]