Another 2,542 dengue fever cases were reported over the past week in addition to 12 serious cases and five deaths, including the year’s youngest fatality, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Tuesday.
The figures from Tuesday last week to Monday were the highest in recent weeks as the outbreak reaches a peak, CDC spokeswoman Tseng Shu-huai (曾淑慧) said.
Case numbers are expected to fluctuate over the next two weeks with the incoming typhoon and holiday weekend, after which they are expected to drop as preventative efforts continue, she said.
Photo: Hung Jui-chin, Taipei Times
Tainan recorded the most new cases last week at 2,309, followed by Kaohsiung with 145, Yunlin County with 31, Pingtung County with 18, Chiayi County with 17, New Taipei City with 13 and three each in Taipei and Taichung.
Taoyuan, Hsinchu County and Nantou County each recorded one new case.
All five of the deaths reported on Tuesday — three men and two women — had pre-existing conditions, CDC data showed.
One was a woman in her 20s with diabetes and heart arrhythmia, CDC epidemiologist Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said.
She developed a headache last month, followed a day later by full-body soreness and drowsiness, Lin said.
When she visited an emergency room, her blood pressure was already low and she was exhibiting signs of shock, he said.
Her condition worsened while in the hospital, where she experienced multiple organ failure 10 days after the onset of symptoms, he added.
Despite the unusually young fatality, Lin said that 85 percent of dengue-related deaths this year have involved people older than 60, with a median age of 74.
However, he also cautioned that dangerous complications may arise in people with pre-existing conditions, who should seek immediate medical attention if exhibiting symptoms.
There have been 13,036 domestic cases so far this year, including 68 severe cases and 20 deaths, CDC data showed.
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