CDC Deploys Mobile Team Led by Deputy Director Lin to Assist Kaohsiung in Containing Local Dengue Outbreak

The Centers for Disease Control (hereafter referred to as the CDC) announced today (the 14th) that in response to a dengue fever cluster outbreak at Kaohsiung Municipal Minsheng Hospital (hereafter referred to as Minsheng Hospital), the CDC established a rapid response epidemic prevention team on the 12th. Deputy Director‑General Lin Ming‑cheng traveled south to Kaohsiung, attended the Lingya District command center’s forward command meeting on the 13th to assess the current status of control efforts, then proceeded to Minsheng Hospital to provide practical guidance and recommendations on dengue prevention and clinical case management. He also offered improvement suggestions and reinforced mosquito‑control measures for potential breeding sites and risk areas within the hospital. Today, he also conducted an on‑site inspection of construction sites surrounding Minsheng Hospital to ensure implementation of all preventive actions and to strictly prevent the outbreak from spreading outward. Deputy Director‑General Lin noted that this is a critical period for controlling the dengue cluster at Minsheng Hospital and that the epidemic’s evolution must be closely monitored. He also praised Kaohsiung City for, during epidemiological investigation, identifying that the index case had been hospitalized at Minsheng Hospital during the incubation period, which triggered a hospital‑wide inspection and removal of breeding sites, environmental cleanup, emergency spraying in the cluster units, and supplemental monitoring using high‑efficiency mosquito‑trapping lights. In addition, expanded testing was carried out for staff in the affected areas, current in‑patients, and previously discharged patients, and joint community‑level prevention measures were implemented with relevant bureaus within the designated alert zone. Thanks to the proactive efforts of the Kaohsiung municipal team, as of June 14, one additional dengue‑positive case was detected in a neighboring ward of the index patient’s hospitalization, bringing the total cluster to six cases. No outward spread has been observed, and monitoring will continue through July 12. The CDC explained that, to cooperate with Kaohsiung City in prevention and control, it immediately formed a rapid response team on June 12, dispatching personnel to inspect breeding sites at Minsheng Hospital and within the epidemic alert zone. Up to today, the team has logged 14 person‑days of service, including verification of high‑risk sites in the Songjie Village of Lingya District, supervision of emergency control measures in that area, and joint assessments with the Health Bureau of the hospital’s affected units, internal risk zones, and surrounding construction sites. Ongoing post‑intervention evaluations will be arranged to help Kaohsiung verify the outcomes of control measures. Team members also attended municipal and district meetings to offer recommendations, assist with viral genotype comparisons to identify possible sources of infection, and monitor epidemic trends. Central and local authorities are working together to contain the dengue outbreak. According to CDC statistics, as of June 14, 2026, there have been a total of seven confirmed locally transmitted dengue cases, all residing in Kaohsiung City. In addition, 68 imported cases have been recorded, the third highest total for the same period in the past five years (2022‑2026 figures range from 3 to 106 cases). The majority were imported from Southeast Asian countries (69%), with Indonesia accounting for the most cases (21), followed by the Maldives (14) and Vietnam (9). The CDC urges that, as we enter the dengue season and recent frequent rains create favorable conditions for vector mosquitoes, dengue transmission is closely tied to the condition of indoor and outdoor environments. As long as there are no breeding sites, dengue cannot occur. The public must rigorously implement the “inspect, dump, clean, and scrub” routine for water‑holding containers, proactively eliminate breeding sites at homes, workplaces, and elsewhere, and cooperate with government control efforts to reduce mosquito density. When outdoors, people should take protective measures, wear light‑colored long‑sleeved clothing, and use government‑approved repellents containing effective ingredients such as DEET, Picaridin, or IR‑3535 to avoid mosquito bites. The CDC reminds the public that if they experience fever, headache, retro‑orbital pain, or muscle and joint aches—symptoms suggestive of dengue—they should seek medical care promptly and inform the physician of any travel or activity history. Physicians are advised to use NS1 rapid diagnostic kits in a timely manner. Patients diagnosed with dengue should continue to practice mosquito‑preventive measures at home and watch for warning signs of severe disease, such as abdominal pain or tenderness, persistent vomiting, mucosal bleeding, lethargy, or agitation, so that appropriate clinical management can be provided to reduce the risk of severe illness and death.

Source: Centers for Disease Control

Data compiled by: Epidemiology Management Office