Changhua couple hospitalized with dengue fever: CDC

FAMILY CLUSTER: The couple had been on a group tour to Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam. Local health bureaus are monitoring the other 19 tour members

• By Lo Pi / Staff reporter

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A married couple from Changhua County has been hospitalized with dengue fever after returning from a trip to Vietnam’s Phu Quoc Island, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, classifying the cases as an imported family cluster.

The other 19 members of their tour group, who reside in Taichung, Tainan, Hsinchu and Nantou County, are being monitored by local health bureaus, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said.

The couple traveled to Phu Quoc with relatives from Sept. 12 to Tuesday last week, and developed symptoms on Saturday and Sunday last week, with one of them also exhibiting a skin rash, Lin said.

A public health officer sprays insecticide in Changhua County last week.

Photo courtesy of the Changhua County Public Health Bureau

They sought medical attention at a hospital outpatient clinic on Monday and visited an emergency room the following day as their symptoms persisted, he said.

They tested positive on dengue NS1 rapid tests and on Wednesday were confirmed to be infected, with their samples sent to the CDC for retesting and gene sequencing, he added.

Epidemiological investigations showed that after returning to Taiwan, the couple mainly worked near their residence in Changhua County, dined at a local hot pot restaurant, shopped at a hardware store and delivered goods to neighboring townships before developing symptoms, Lin said.

Their residential area has reported no other confirmed dengue cases this year, and while nearby townships have seen imported cases, discrepancies in timing and distance rule out local transmission, Lin said, adding that they were likely infected in Vietnam.

While only the couple lives in their household, the CDC has notified health bureaus in the four other regions to monitor the health of the 21-member tour group.

Local health authorities on Wednesday inspected 75 households around the couple’s residence and found 38 water-filled containers, 13 of which were breeding vector mosquitoes, indicating a high mosquito density in the area.

Chemical fumigation was completed on Thursday to prevent community transmission.

As of Thursday, Taiwan had recorded 163 imported dengue cases this year, CDC data showed.

During the same period from 2022 to last year, there were 38, 164, 216 and 177 cases respectively.

The CDC reminded the public to take anti-mosquito precautions when traveling to dengue-endemic areas.

Those who develop symptoms such as a fever, headache, retro-orbital pain, muscle and joint pain, or rash within two weeks of returning to Taiwan should seek immediate medical attention and inform doctors of their travel history, it said.

As current temperatures remain conducive to mosquito breeding, the public should regularly empty stagnant water containers in and around their homes to lower the risk of disease transmission, the agency added.