Taiwan Records Second-ever Indigenous Case of Chikungunya

Two patients have been diagnosed with chikungunya fever in Taiwan, the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) said. The second patient, a Taipei woman in her 60s, sought medical attention after developing high fever, muscle and joint pain. The medication she received did not enhance the symptoms and she was admitted to hospital the next day. This is the second indigenous case ever reported in Taiwan.

Doctors initially suspected that the woman had contracted dengue fever until the tests indicated it was chikungunya fever, the CDC said.

Chikungunya, dengue, malaria, Yellow fever, Zika virus are mosquito-borne diseases which becomes prevalent during monsoon. The mosquitoes that spread these diseases breed in stagnant water. The initial symptoms of these mosquito diseases are fever, joint and muscle pain, rash, headache, fatigue, nausea or vomiting.

The Taipei woman was discharged and was confined to home where her health was being monitored.

The CDC did not find record of recent travel abroad by the woman, who have spent most of her time at home in New Taipei City's Zhonghe District.

The CDC believes the woman patient contracted chikungunya fever somewhere in Zhonghe district, because two previous imported chikungunya fever cases were found in the district in July and August.

The disease control body informed that the neighborhood where the woman patient lives has been disinfected to prevent mosquito proliferation. A total of 11 people, who had recent contact with the patient, have not shown any sign of infection.

The CDC said that in August, two imported chikungunya cases were confirmed in Yilan County. The patients are believed to have contracted the virus during their recent visits to Myanmar. The patients have recovered and were confined to their homes, the report added.

There have been 47 confirmed chikungunya cases in Taiwan in 2019 of which 45 imported.

According to CDC statistics, 28 of the imported case came from Myanmar, 7 from Thailand, 5 from the Maldives, 2 from Indonesia and one each from the Philippines, Malaysia and India.