In a notice to the Kaohsiung city government's Health Bureau, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) under the Cabinet-level Department of Health confirmed the case reported by I-Shou University's E Da Hospital July 17.

While there have been 14 reported cases, this is the first confirmed case of Japanese encephalitis in the southern Taiwan port city this year.

The patient is a truck mechanic who showed symptoms including fever, headache, vomiting and loss of appetite.

Sanitation workers sprayed insecticide in a one-kilometer radius area surrounding the residence of the patient, where they found no common mosquito breeding areas such as pig farms, pigeon lofts, heron nests or water ponds.

Japanese encephalitis is spread mainly from pigs to humans through mosquito bites. It is one of a group of mosquito-borne virus diseases that can affect the central nervous system and cause severe complications or even death.

The disease usually starts as a flu-like illness, including symptoms of fever, chills, tiredness, headache, nausea, and vomiting. Confusion and agitation can also occur in the early stages.

These symptoms usually appear six to eight days after infection.