We had a student come back from SE Asia with dengue fever and I’ve just learned my whole campus is to be 消毒 exterminated tomorrow. Apparently they actually spray inside as well so we are supposed to put away all of our clothes and food and cover beds (!). They’ll cancel classes (though not my morning class) and we have to go away for four hours in the afternoon
I believe the student had it almost two months ago, so I’m really not keen on this. We also have three really small babies/kids. Has anybody been through something like this? Is there any basis in Taiwan to opt out of it? I’m guessing the government can do whatever it wants, and that because I don’t own the place I have even less recourse. Any info you can offer would really be appreciated. Jon
Just because one student had it, don’t you think it’s a bit extreme to exterminate the whole campus? Surely the student who brought it in should should be the one severely dealt with?
[quote=“taipeijon”]We had a student come back from SE Asia with dengue fever and I’ve just learned my whole campus is to be 消毒 exterminated tomorrow. Apparently they actually spray inside as well so we are supposed to put away all of our clothes and food and cover beds (!). They’ll cancel classes (though not my morning class) and we have to go away for four hours in the afternoon
I believe the student had it almost two months ago, so I’m really not keen on this. We also have three really small babies/kids. Has anybody been through something like this? Is there any basis in Taiwan to opt out of it? I’m guessing the government can do whatever it wants, and that because I don’t own the place I have even less recourse. Any info you can offer would really be appreciated. Jon[/quote]
I think you mean disinfected unless this is some Waco type massacre. Unfortunately Dengue is a notifiable disease here and the government is really keen to avoid community infection. If a mosquito bit the person with dengue then the mosquito carries the virus for life and passes it on to its offspring. So if the guy was bitten by mosquitoes on campus while the virus was in his body then the action is justified because those mosquitoes and all their descendants are infected and community infection is a real risk. If community infection occurs then you have a real problem. I’ve been hospitalized with Dengue before and it is absolute hell.
Yes, bear is absolutely right. Dengue is highly contagious and nothing to laugh about especially if you have kids. Doctors thought I had it a few years back and my neighborhood was sprayed as was my friend who was on the same hiking trip. We ended up having scrub typhus which was bad enough.
Dengue is actually an urban problem in Taiwan due to the presence of pools of stagnant water and the ease of contagion in dense areas. The student may likely have picked it up on campus which means the place must be disinfected.
This is not bullshit so try not to get in the way or make things difficult for the people who are trying to prevent an outbreak. People do die from this.
What surprised me was the inside part. We don’t get many mosquitoes inside. We have crawling babies. We won’t be able to cover every surface (think hundreds of books, blankets, towels, etc., etc.). Our babies likely will ingest some of this.
And in the States we tend to say “insect extermination.” What do you all say? We’re not really disinfecting the insects.
Go out and buy a couple rolls of large garbage bags (the biggest). Pack everything you own in them, in advance. Leave the few things you need for daily use last. When you return from being exterminated , wipe down all surfaces, unpack from the bags and discard the bags then wash your hands. That’s about the best you can do, no? Better than losing a baby or two to dengue fever.
OK, I’ll grant that “fumigation” is better. Since classes are starting, maybe I was just secretly rooting for the extermination. (And the Chinese word means “eliminate and poison.”)
I get that Taiwan takes things seriously. It’s an island. They had SARS. They know about natural disasters. I am mostly just complaining because we have really short notice on this and it comes at a bad time. It’s going to be ridiculously hard to cover everything, and cleaning will probably take a day or two. I kind of wish we’d done a few waves of the outside fumigation before moving to every room of every house. I also have no idea what chemicals are being used. They say it’ll be safe after four hours, but what do I know?
It went well yesterday. As information came out–all via word of mouth–I learned that a neighboring horticulture place had a person with it, then I learned it was three people, then I learned our campus had three people who tested for it but with no symptoms. Clearly it was a good idea to spray.
The challenge I have with stuff like this is that it is just so hard to get information. I asked the CDC person yesterday what they would be spraying, and she didn’t know. One person told us we should leave for an hour and another person said four hours.
, wipe down all surfaces, unpack from the bags and discard the bags then wash your hands. That’s about the best you can do, no? Better than losing a baby or two to dengue fever. 