Tainan City imposes fines to combat Dengue Fever threat

TAINAN (TVBS News) — The Tainan City Government's Public Health Bureau announced on Thursday (Feb. 29), that it will enforce penalties ranging from NT$3,000 to NT$15,000 starting April 1, for properties found with dengue fever-carrying mosquito larvae vessels or containers within their premises.

The Tainan Health Bureau has launched its dengue fever prevention and control efforts and emphasized that from January to March, education about prevention against the fever is at the forefront.

According to the bureau, it has received complaints from the residents of the city about the increasing number of mosquitoes in their homes due to the change in climate.

The mosquitoes under scrutiny are domestic varieties, which are not vectors for dengue fever; however, the population of Aedes mosquitoes, which are carriers of dengue, is also expected to rise.

The habitats and activity times of domestic mosquitoes and Aedes are different, with the former commonly inhabiting stagnant sewers, while the latter prefers clean stagnant water for breeding.

To prevent both types of mosquitoes, the bureau releases a public reminder to patrol, overturn, clean, and regularly scrub the stagnant water containers and areas to avoid providing breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Violators who are found to have containers that are breeding spots for disease-carrying mosquitoes after April 1, will be penalized according to the Communicable Disease Control Act.