According to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, there have been 60 cases of domestic dengue fever so far this year. Tainan has the second highest number of cases with 15 and there is a sense of public crisis. One borough chief has started a mosquito larvae catching competition, while another person has reported a pool of stagnant water in the basement of a building affiliated with municipal historic monument Dehua Hall due to concerns the pool could become a breeding site for vector mosquitoes.
The borough chief and over 100 volunteers from Tainan's Wennan Borough inspect water containers and abandoned toilets for mosquito larvae. In three hours, they find larvae in a toilet and a discarded tire. The local health bureau has issued fines.
So many people are taking part because they're scared. Wennan Borough is pretty large and has over 2,000 households. Every group is divided into two (smaller) groups to inspect the community.
As of July 22, there have been 59 cases of domestic dengue fever reported so far this year. Tainan has seen the second highest number of cases with 15. Someone recently reported a pool of stagnant water in the basement of a building in the Dehua Hall complex. Dehua Hall is a municipal historic monument and there have been rumors about large swarms of mosquitoes there. The health office immediately sent inspectors to the site after getting the report.
It's inspected on a weekly basis. The water pump was probably struck by lightning. Otherwise, water wouldn't accumulate there.
The owner is draining the water. We have also already sterilized the building.
The health bureau did not issue any fines because no larvae or mosquitoes were found and management is draining the water. As Dehua Hall is close to the busy Confucius Temple shopping district and Fuzhong Street, not to mention just two streets over from dengue fever hotspot Kaishan Borough, everyone is on high alert. Four years ago, dengue fever took over 100 lives in Tainan.