[Life] 4 Confirmed Dengue Cases in 100-Person Philippines Study Tour Group; Local Authorities Urgently Filtering Lists and Investigating
RtiTalk 小編23d ago
With the school year not yet started, the dengue fever epidemic has already sounded the alarm. The Changhua County Public Health Bureau recently received a report that 4 out of 18 students and their family members from a study tour group to the Philippines, who are under its jurisdiction, have been confirmed with dengue fever after returning to Taiwan. In response, CDC spokesperson Lin Ming-cheng stated that the group has a total of 100 participants, distributed across 17 cities and counties in Taiwan. Some members have already returned to Taiwan early due to discomfort, and local governments are currently filtering the list and initiating epidemiological investigations. #Reported by Radio Taiwan International (RTI) correspondent Liu Pin-hsi#
Recently, the Changhua County Public Health Bureau received reports of multiple students being diagnosed with dengue fever after attending short-term language schools in the Philippines for their summer studies. Among them, 18 students and family members from Changhua County participated, and 4 have currently been confirmed.
In response, CDC spokesperson Lin Ming-cheng stated on the 28th that the group has a total of 100 participants, distributed across 17 cities and counties. They departed for the Philippines on July 31st. Some members have returned to Taiwan early. Currently, 4 individuals are confirmed with dengue fever, and the CDC is retrieving specimens for gene sequencing. He said: "(Original sound) This is a study tour group with 100 participants in the same batch, distributed across 17 cities and counties. They departed on July 31st, scheduled to stay in Cebu, Philippines for one month. Some members returned early due to discomfort. Currently, 4 individuals are confirmed NS1 positive. We are retrieving the specimens for typing and sequencing. All participants across the 17 cities and counties are being monitored in batches."
Lin Ming-cheng pointed out that some students have already returned to the country, and the exact number is still under investigation. Local governments are filtering the list one by one and initiating epidemiological investigations.
According to the latest statistics from the CDC as of 6 PM on the 28th, the cumulative number of dengue fever cases nationwide this year is 149. Among them, 10 are local cases, all residing in Kaohsiung City; the other 139 are imported cases, mainly infected in Southeast Asian and South Asian countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Maldives. The cumulative number of cases is lower than the same period in 2025.
Lin Ming-cheng stated that with recent high temperatures and heavy rainfall, the risk of dengue fever in the country continues. Coupled with the current summer vacation returnees and the period before the start of the school year, many Taiwanese returning from travel and study tours, as well as Southeast Asian students coming to Taiwan for studies, may bring in the virus, increasing the overall epidemic risk.
Lin Ming-cheng emphasized that the CDC continues to promote the importance of epidemic prevention before and after the start of the school year. In addition to working through the education system, it also collaborates with the tourism industry and calls on primary care physicians to remain vigilant for early detection and to block community transmission risks.
The CDC pointed out that if individuals experience suspected dengue fever symptoms such as fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, or rash, they should seek medical attention as soon as possible and inform their travel history. Medical institutions should also be vigilant, strengthen inquiries about patients' TOCC (Travel history, Occupation history, Contact history, Community history), and can use dengue NS1 rapid test kits to assist in diagnosis and early reporting, enabling health units to take preventive measures as early as possible. (Editor: Song Wan-yuan)
Source Link: https://www.rti.org.tw/news?uid=3&pid=228946
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