Want China Times
Date: 2015-09-17
By: CNA and Staff Reporter
The dengue fever outbreak that continues to ravage southern Taiwan is unlikely to ease up
Various brands of mosquito repellent. The mosquito is the chief vector of dengue fever. (File photo/CNA)
until next January, as it has become more severe than previously thought, the national Centers for Disease Control said Thursday.
The total number of cases by then could reach 30,000-37,000, depending on the effectiveness of disease control efforts in the southern municipalities of Tainan and Kaohsiung, said CDC deputy director-general Chuang Jen-hsiang.
By comparison, Taiwan reported 15,732 dengue fever cases in 2014, by far the highest annual number since it began keeping records. Previous to that, the highest number of cases recorded in a single year was around 2,000, both in 2007 and 2010.
Tainan has reported the bulk of the outbreak, recording 9,634 cases out of 11,006 nationwide as of Wednesday, CDC data shows. Neighboring Kaohsiung had seen 1,195 cases as of the same day. Twenty-five deaths have been officially attributed to the disease. [FULL STORY]
