Dengue Outbreaks in High-Income Area, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, 2003–2009

Chia-Hsien Lin,Karin L Schiøler,Flemming Konradsen,Shu-Hua Li,Martin R Jepsen,Chi-Kung Ho

doi:10.3201/eid1810.111929

Abstract

Kaohsiung City, a modern metropolis of 1.5 million persons, has been the focus of dengue virus activity in Taiwan for several decades. The aim of this study was to provide a temporal and spatial description of dengue virus epidemiology in Kaohsiung City by using data for all laboratory-confirmed dengue cases during 2003-2009. We investigated age- and sex-dependent incidence rates and the spatiotemporal patterns of all cases confirmed through passive or active surveillance. Elderly persons were at particularly high risk for dengue virus-related sickness and death. Of all confirmed cases, ≈75% were detected through passive surveillance activities; case-patients detected through active surveillance included immediate family members, neighbors, and colleagues of confirmed case-patients. Changing patterns of case clustering could be due to the effect of unmeasured environmental and demographic factors.

Highlights

Kaohsiung City, a modern metropolis of 1.5 million persons, has been the focus of dengue virus activity in Taiwan for several decades
Kaohsiung City was the epicenter of the 2002 dengue virus epidemic, which with 2,820 confirmed cases and several hundred cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), was one of the largest ever recorded in Taiwan [3]
We provide a detailed description of the epidemiology of dengue virus infection in Kaohsiung City during 2003– 2009; the description is based on routine disease and vector surveillance data provided by the Department of Health, Kaohsiung City Government

Summary

Introduction

Kaohsiung City, a modern metropolis of 1.5 million persons, has been the focus of dengue virus activity in Taiwan for several decades. We investigated age- and sex-dependent incidence rates and the spatiotemporal patterns of all cases confirmed through passive or active surveillance. For the past decade, dengue virus epidemics have occurred annually in Taiwan, and the main focus of activity has been in Kaohsiung City, a modern metropolis of 1.5 million persons. Lin et al [12] examined the relationship between diseaserelated illness and death and the distribution of primary and secondary infections for dengue virus cases reported across Taiwan during 2002–2007. The study provides an assessment of spatiotemporal case clusters, identifying possible hot spots for dengue virus transmission in Kaohsiung City during the 7-year study period

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