According to a newspaper report, the authorities in Taiwan are struggling to cope with an outbreak of dengue fever in the south of the island.
The island's disease control agency on Wednesday said, Kaohsiung City in southern Taiwan recorded 466 new dengue fever cases on Tuesday, its highest number since May.
Central News Agency reported on Tuesday, the outbreak has killed four people in the city, all elderly in their 70s who had chronic disease.
It could be Taiwan's worst dengue fever outbreak in a decade.
Dengue fever is spread by mosquito bites. It mainly affects people in tropical and subtropical regions, causing fever, nausea and muscle and joint aches.
High temperatures and humidity encourage the breeding of mosquitos, which is why countries with tropical climates—including Taiwan—tend to be plagued by dengue fever every year.
The Asian tiger mosquito has been blamed for spreading dengue fever and Japanese B encephalitis.
The outbreak eased up this year after the Guangdong authorities released infertile males of the species to drastically reduce the mosquito population.
By Ruchi Singh
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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