Publication of the “Handbook for the Dengue Control Based on Taiwan Experience”
According to the World Health Organization, about 390 million people worldwide are infected with dengue virus every year. In recent years, due to frequent international exchanges and climate change, the prevention of dengue fever has become one of the Taiwan government’s especially important tasks. In Southeast Asia, children are the main target of dengue virus infection and so are the main focus of the World Health Organization’s guidelines on dengue. In Taiwan, however, recent studies have found that the main groups with clinically severe dengue fever are the elderly and patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes and renal failure. Because children and the elderly require different clinical care, the WHO guidelines for dengue patients are not applicable to Taiwan’s situation. Therefore, an appropriate diagnostic reference was needed to guide Taiwan’s first-line clinicians.
The NMDC, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Centers for Disease Control, gathered experts and scholars, including clinicians with real-world experience in epidemic prevention, to compile and publish relevant research work and experiences in public health and clinical work. The handbook focuses on not just epidemiology, virus detection, and disease pathogenesis but also on Taiwan’s specific valuable experience, particularly on the potential risk factors of elderly infected with dengue virus that could lead to severe disease outcomes. The NMDC hopes the work will provide an important reference for epidemic-prevention units, the public, and clinicians for the understanding, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of dengue fever, thereby reducing the threat of dengue virus infection and safeguarding people’s health.
