Dengue cases still on the rise in Singapore

Numbers higher than in same period last year, despite stepped-up checks

Salma Khalik, Straits Times 15 Apr 08;

THE number of dengue victims has continued climbing despite the stepped-up efforts of the National Environment Agency (NEA) to fight mosquito breeding.

The NEA mounted its annual pre-emptive strike two months earlier this year, in January instead of March.

The sweep of potentially productive mosquito breeding sites in housing estates was completed last month, which is when this phase of the mosquito war usually starts.

More than 400 NEA officers combed every drain and water tank in HDB estates, on top of the routine surveillance and extermination of breeding sites by the town councils.

Their mission: to seek out and destroy as many breeding sites as possible before the onset of warmer mid-year weather, which puts mosquitoes in breeding mode.

At around this time last year, which was warmer, the number of people down with dengue had shot past 100 cases a week.

Singapore, emerging from the coolest March in two decades this year, is already starting to see a rise in the number of dengue patients.

Last week, 97 people were infected, 20 more than in the previous week.

In the first 15 weeks of this year, 1,401 people caught the illness, compared to 944 in the same period last year.

There are now two large 'active' dengue clusters, one in Upper Paya Lebar with 32 people down with the fever and the other in Yishun with 10 sick.

A cluster is active if at least two people in an area have dengue, with the latest case having surfaced in the past two weeks.

Last year, despite the NEA having checked more than 4,000 premises for mosquito breeding every day, almost 9,000 people caught the fever.

Dengue is characterised by a high fever, body aches and vomiting. The disease can be fatal.

Of the 1,400 admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital last year, 86 came down with the more serious dengue haemorrhagic fever.

Over the next few months, the NEA will home in on outdoor areas, such as corridor drains and playgrounds. It will check schools, sports facilities and places of worship.

Places that have not been exposed to the current Den 2 strain of the dengue virus will get special attention.

There are four strains of the virus. People infected with one strain can fall sick again if exposed to a different strain.

Doctors say that people who are infected again - and half of those down with dengue are - tend to get more sick.

Number of weekly dengue cases up
Channel NewsAsia 14 Apr 08;

SINGAPORE : The National Environmental Agency (NEA) has confirmed that there were 97 dengue cases reported from April 6 to 12.

That is the highest number in the past five weeks, when the weekly average has been about 75.

Meanwhile, there were 13 cases between April 13 and 14.

According to the Health Ministry (MOH), foreign workers make up a big number of the reported cases in Upper Paya Lebar Road, which is one of the dengue clusters.

Most of these foreign workers are from China, India and Bangladesh.

MOH suspects that they did not receive dengue vaccination shots.

To avoid mosquitoes from breeding, NEA has requested those living in hostels above shop houses along Upper Paya Lebar to remove their roof gutters in the next week.

There are reportedly more than 60 breeding grounds in this area alone. - CNA/ms