The Centers for Disease Control confirmed Thursday the country's first reported case of dengue fever fatality for this year. The victim, a 75-year-old woman from Kaohsiung City in southern Taiwan, succumbed to the disease Wednesday after being diagnosed Aug. 20 and reported Aug. 24 to have developed a potentially fatal complication called dengue hemorrhagic fever, according to CDC Deputy Director-General Chou Chih-hao. She was admitted to the hospital's intensive care unit because of a sudden drop in blood pressure, where she died of myocardial infarction, pneumonia and multiple organ failure, according to Chou. Dengue hemorrhagic fever is caused by a family of viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes, Chou said, adding that people suffering from chronic illnesses if infected with dengue fever are more likely to develop hemorrhagic fever, Chou added. According to the CDC, the last local death from hemorrhagic dengue fever was reported in 2009. Since March, 41 cases of confirmed indigenous dengue fever infection have been reported so far this year, including five new cases reported Thursday. The CDC urged the public to frequently clean up standing water containers around their homes to prevent the carrier mosquitoes from breeding. 