As Typhoon Doksuri brought heavy rains and floods to eastern and southern Taiwan, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday urged people to remove any standing water on their property for dengue fever prevention, avoid cleaning up the environment while barefooted or wearing sandals, and disinfect the flooded homes to prevent illnesses.
People should clean up their homes and the surrounding environment, especially in flood-affected areas, to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds, as the risk of local dengue outbreaks continues to grow with case numbers having exceeded the same periods in the past decade, the CDC said.
As of Friday, 749 local dengue infections have been reported this year, including 614 cases in Tainan, 102 cases in Yunlin County, 27 cases in Kaohsiung, three cases in Taichung, two cases in Nantou County and one case in Pingtung County, the CDC said adding that it has also confirmed 80 imported cases.
Photo courtesy of the Tainan City Government
People should inspect the environment inside and outside their homes, and drain and dump standing water found in unused tires, cans, bottles, containers, buckets, canvases, flowerpots and vases, which are great places for mosquitoes to lay eggs, the centers said.
If people experience dengue symptoms, including a fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle or joint soreness, and rashes, they should seek immediate medical attention and tell the medical staff about their recent activities to assist the diagnosis and faster reporting of dengue cases.
The centers also urged people not to clean the environment while barefooted or wearing sandals, but instead wear rain boots or knee-high waterproof boots, as they might get injured by rusty objects and get infected with leptospirosis, Burkholderia pseudomallei or tetanus from contaminated water.
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