Department of Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang said Thursday that the spread of dengue fever has been increasingly rapid, particularly in southern Taiwan, with the number of indigenous cases possibly set to break 600 or even 1,000 this year. Reporting at the Executive Yuan on the latest situation regarding dengue fever and the prevention of other epidemic diseases, Yaung said 284 confirmed cases of indigenous dengue fever have been reported since Aug. 1, with the number rising abruptly in southern Taiwan after Typhoon Fanapi swept across the island recently, causing severe flooding in the southern port city of Kaohsiung. The raging dengue fever situation prompted Yaung to travel to Kaohsiung Sept. 26 to review the epidemic prevention work there. He said during his report that the number of confirmed indigenous dengue fever cases, mainly scattered throughout Kaohsiung City and in neighboring Tainan City and Tainan County, could increase further. Of the indigenous dengue fever cases, three involved the potentially lethal dengue hemorrhagic fever, one of which was fatal, he said. Over the past two months, the number of cases of imported dengue fever has also increased, reaching 227 to date, mainly from Southeast Asia, he continued. Meanwhile, he reported that the DOH will make free vaccinations against seasonal influenza available between Oct. 1 and Nov. 30 for citizens aged over 65, residents of nursing homes and patients suffering from rare diseases. If the number of doses exceeds requirements, he said, the additional ones will be made available for the general public from Dec. 1 until they are used up. He also noted in his report that the DOH listed the new drug-resistant superbug named NDM-1 that originates from India as a category-four communicable disease Sept. 9, requiring hospitals and clinics to immediately report any suspected cases. He said Taiwan has so far remained clear of the disease, which is named from an enzyme called New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase-1 that is found in some strains of bacteria, including E-coli, and is widespread on the Indian subcontinent. The bug has reportedly also reached countries such as the United Kingdom, the U.S., Canada, Australia, the Netherlands and Japan. Turning to the spread and prevention of enterovirus, he said that so far there have been 15 severe cases this year, none of which have been fatal. There were 29 severe cases in the corresponding period of last year, with two deaths, he added. Responding to Yaung's report, Premier Wu Den-yih said the government and the public should remain on high alert against epidemics, both indigenous and those introduced from overseas. He exhorted the DOH and the Environmental Protection Administration to bolster assistance to local governments in their campaign against the spread of dengue fever and also instructed the DOH to pay close attention to the global development of the NDM-1 situation. The DOH should 'set up a central epidemic command center to help stem the spread of the superbug if it invades Taiwan and causes harm,' Wu told the meeting. 