Five men who recently traveled to Thailand as part of a tour group were infected with dengue fever, the Taipei City Department of Health said Thursday.
The men, aged between 20 and 40, were part of a tour group of 31 people who departed for Thailand on July 30. The five men returned to Taiwan on separate dates between Wednesday and Friday last week, the department said, adding that the dengue fever cases were reported between Friday and Wednesday. The remaining 26 people in the group have been contacted and asked to monitor their health conditions, it said.
Photo: CNA
Two of the infected men live in the city’s Shilin District (士林), two in Beitou District (北投) and one in Daan District (大安), it said.
The men said they contacted physicians after developing symptoms such as a fever, headache, and pain in the back of their eye sockets, it said.
The department has cautioned those traveling to Southeast Asia to exercise caution and take preventative measures to prevent mosquito bites.
The number of cases in Thailand has reached nearly 60,000 as of May, which is higher than the same period over the past four years, it said. Case numbers in Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and other countries in the region have also reached between 40,000 and 80,000, it said.
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