Taiwan Estimates Low Spread Risk After Students Return From Philippine Dengue Cluster

Five teenagers from a 126-person Taiwanese study group tested positive for dengue fever after returning from the Philippines, but health authorities assessed the risk of spread in Taiwan as low.

The group included 101 students, 15 accompanying parents, seven students taking free courses and three accompanying parents. Forty-two students in the group developed suspected symptoms, although most were diagnosed with influenza B, upper respiratory infections or common colds. One person remained under testing, while an initial dengue test was negative.

The five confirmed cases involved four people from Changhua County and one from Hualien County. All were teenagers. They travelled to the Philippines between July 31 and Aug. 27 and developed symptoms between Aug. 19 and 22. Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control will monitor the group through Sept. 22, after an initial health-monitoring period ending Sept. 13.

Authorities also investigated a local dengue cluster in Gangshan District, Kaohsiung. Two people from the same household tested positive. Expanded testing covered household, workplace and community contacts, as well as wider community screening. Of 315 tests, 259 were negative and 54 were still being processed, with no additional local cases reported.

The CDC said a Vietnamese student worker at a breakfast shop about 10 metres from the household’s home had tested positive for both IgM and IgG antibodies. The worker entered Taiwan on Aug. 8 while infectious, and mosquito breeding sources were found nearby. Officials said the person may have been the infection source. Taiwan has recorded 144 imported dengue cases this year, many linked to Southeast and South Asian countries.