Kaohsiung Minsheng Hospital Dengue Cluster Rises to 6 Cases; CDC: No External Spread Detected

By Central News Agency reporter Chen Chieh-ling, Taipei, July 14

A dengue fever cluster at Kaohsiung City's Minsheng Hospital has prompted the establishment of a mobile epidemic prevention team by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). As of today, one additional dengue-positive case has been confirmed in a neighboring ward during the index patient's hospitalization period, bringing the cumulative total to six cases. There are currently no signs of external outbreak spread, and monitoring is expected to continue until July 12.

On July 12, Kaohsiung reported five new locally acquired dengue fever cases, all of whom were inpatients at Minsheng Hospital. A localized outbreak within the hospital is suspected, marking the first hospital-based dengue cluster in eight years.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare's CDC established a mobile epidemic prevention team on the 12th, with Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng traveling to Kaohsiung to attend yesterday's forward command meeting of the Lingya District-level Command Center to oversee prevention and control efforts.

Lin Ming-cheng stated in a press release today that the current period is critical for controlling the dengue cluster at Minsheng Hospital, requiring close observation of the epidemic's progression. Local authorities have initiated comprehensive inspections and elimination of mosquito breeding sources across the hospital, environmental cleanup, emergency fogging in the affected unit, and enhanced monitoring using high-efficiency mosquito traps. Expanded testing is being conducted among staff, current inpatients, and discharged patients linked to the cluster.

Lin noted that the mobile epidemic prevention team has dispatched personnel to inspect breeding sources at Minsheng Hospital and within the epidemic alert zone, with a cumulative 14 personnel deployed. Tasks include verification of high-risk managed sites in Zoujie Village, Lingya District, supervision of emergency control operations in Zoujie Village, and joint risk assessments of high-risk hospital areas and surrounding construction sites with the health bureau.

CDC spokesperson Tseng Shu-hui, in a media interview, stated that laboratory testing and case linkage analysis for this hospital dengue cluster are still ongoing, with genetic sequence analysis expected to be completed by July 16. Due to the required laboratory procedures, the key focus is determining whether cases share the same viral source to confirm if they belong to a single transmission chain.

Tseng added that vector mosquito monitoring and elimination are being conducted in parallel, including mosquito trapping and testing. Most mosquito samples collected in the affected area have tested negative, indicating that dengue in Taiwan remains sporadic compared to large-scale outbreaks in Southeast Asia, resulting in a lower probability of mosquitoes carrying the virus. However, any captured vector mosquitoes will still undergo further testing for viral presence.

Tseng emphasized that the outbreak is currently in the acute phase, making prevention and control the top priority. Hospitals and related units will conduct reviews, including identifying mosquito breeding sources such as stagnant water, and implementing necessary larvicide treatments. Additionally, testing will be expanded to actively identify related cases both inside and outside the hospital, with continuous tracking and containment efforts to prevent further spread. (Edited by Huang Ming-hsi)