The Gao City Health Bureau announced today (17th) three new confirmed cases of dengue fever imported from abroad within its jurisdiction. They are a 35-year-old British male, a 32-year-old Thai male tourist, and a 33-year-old Filipino female migrant worker. This year (115), there have been a total of 32 confirmed cases of imported dengue fever. The Health Bureau reminds the public that Vietnam and the Philippines have issued Level 2 warnings for dengue fever travel epidemics. Travelers, migrant workers, and employers should pay attention to their health conditions.
The Health Bureau stated that one of the cases was sent to the hospital directly after being discovered in airport quarantine and did not enter the community; the other two cases entered the community during the viremia stage. The epidemic prevention team has launched epidemic control and emergency prevention and treatment to strictly prevent overseas viruses from triggering local epidemics.
The Health Bureau stated that the 30th British case entered Kaohsiung Airport from Vietnam on October 13. He was tested positive for NS1 rapid screening at the airport quarantine station due to fever. He was immediately hospitalized and was confirmed by PCR the next day. The case did not enter the community, demonstrating the effectiveness of border quarantine interception.
The 31st case is a Filipino migrant worker in a technology factory in Nanzi District. He returned to China to visit relatives from September 28 to October 14. On October 12, he developed fatigue, muscle and bone aches. He sought medical treatment locally. He returned to the dormitory without abnormality when entering Kaohsiung Airport. He felt unwell and did not go to work the next day and took the initiative to seek medical treatment. Dengue fever type 3 was confirmed through NS1 rapid screening and PCR.
The 32nd case is a Thai tourist who developed symptoms of fever, headache, joint pain and diarrhea after entering the country on October 13. He visited Lotus Pond, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts and restaurants, and was hospitalized on October 15. Dengue fever type 3 was confirmed by PCR. Currently, his travel companions have no suspected symptoms and the PCR test is negative.
The Health Bureau has carried out epidemic investigation, breeding source inspections and necessary prevention and control in the places where Filipino migrant workers and Thai tourists live and activity venues, and has requested relevant bureaus to strengthen inspections of surrounding high-risk areas.
In response to the 31st case of a Filipino migrant worker who was diagnosed with dengue fever despite having no abnormal body temperature when entering the country, the Health Bureau reminded that the case had suspected dengue fever symptoms and sought medical treatment before entering the country. People and migrant workers returning from Southeast Asia and other endemic areas, if they had fever, headache, musculoskeletal aches and other suspected dengue fever symptoms within 14 days before entry, even if the fever has subsided or the symptoms have been relieved, they should still proactively inform the airport quarantine personnel of their symptoms and medical records, and cooperate with the NS1 rapid screening test to avoid the spread of the virus into the community.
Analysis by the Health Bureau pointed out that there have been a total of 32 cases of dengue fever imported from abroad this year, with 14 cases in Vietnam as the source of infection, followed by 5 cases in the Philippines and 4 cases in Indonesia. There are also sporadic cases in Malaysia and other Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam and the Philippines, which have been listed as second-level warning countries for dengue fever travel epidemic. It calls on employers and agency companies to understand the health status of migrant workers when they return home, assist re-entry migrant workers in getting tested as soon as possible, and implement 14-day independent health monitoring.
