The total number of dengue fever cases has topped 5,000 in the southern city of Tainan. The Tainan City Government on Monday put the exact number at 5,247 so far this summer. That includes 363 new cases reported on Sunday.
Deputy Tainan Mayor Yen Chun-tso said on Monday that the city has a better handle on the outbreak, since meeting with experts last week. He called on residents to do their part in cleaning up their surroundings, in order to help bring the mosquito-born tropical disease under control.
Meanwhile, a researcher with the National Health Research Institute, Su Ih-jen, said that unstable weather patterns in Tainan have made it difficult to combat the infectious disease.
Su said that the government has found little success in fighting the outbreak, despite making an all-out effort. He called on the central and local governments to use “scientific” methods to stop the disease from spreading further. He said a task force is needed to analyze the big data for such factors as population density, the environment, mosquito populations, and the number of patients.