Nine new locally-transmitted chikungunya fever cases reported

May Wong, Channel NewsAsia 16 Aug 08;

SINGAPORE : Nine new locally-transmitted chikungunya fever cases have been reported in Singapore.

This brings to 117 the total number of cases so far, which includes imported ones.

Of these, 54 were imported cases with history of travel to places like Johor, Malacca, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

Three of the new cases were found at the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre.

A 61-year-old man and his 32-year-old daughter who worked at the centre caught the chikungunya fever virus.

The father is still hospitalised while the daughter has been discharged.

They did not travel overseas prior to their illness.

After screening blood samples of 184 workers at the centre, authorities found another victim - a 44-year-old employee.

The other six cases of chikungunya fever were found at Kranji Way, Sungei Kadut, Queen Street, Segar Road and Jalan Berjaya.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said: "(We've) been fighting mosquitoes for several decades now and I know these are very formidable enemies. They'll try to survive and I think there's no other way except just make sure our environmental hygiene is of very high standards."

He added: "It's a little bit like dengue several decades ago. If we did to dengue what we're doing to chikungunya today, we might have prevented dengue becoming permanent residents here.

"But once they're out there, then you try to eliminate every single case, it's tough...As Health Minister, I'm worried about so many other things. But worrying is one thing...(we should) try to do our best." - CNA/ms

Nine more cases of chikungunya, new cluster emerges
Latest cluster at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre; two workers and a kin test positive
Gracia Chiang, Straits Times 17 Aug 08;

Nine more local cases and a new cluster for chikungunya fever has surfaced.

The latest cluster is at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, where a 32-year-old female worker tested positive for the mosquito-borne disease last Tuesday.

Her 61-year-old father later tested positive. He is still in hospital while she has recovered.

Last Thursday, a further blood screening of 184 workers at the centre detected a third person, a 44-year-old worker who came down with the disease there.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) immediately sent some 20 officers and 10 pest control operators to the centre, where four breeding sites were found.

These were destroyed, followed by fogging in the area.

Of the 10 staffing stalls at the centre whom The Sunday Times spoke to, none was aware that chikungunya had hit the place. They did, however, notice that there was an increased effort to clean the area.

One cashier at a supplier there, Madam Serene Lee, 41, said she was 'scared' but business would still go on. 'I have no backup plans but I'll have to be more careful, and take note if any of my workers or colleagues are not feeling well.'

Two additional cases have also been reported at Kranji Way, Singapore's largest chikungunya cluster to date.

The latest victims - a 52-year-old Singaporean and a 41-year-old Chinese national - bring the total affected there to 32. Both work there.

Up to 70 NEA officers and 20 pest-control operators have gone into action there and enforcement measures have been taken against the 52 factory premises found with mosquito breeding.

The NEA has since extended its operations to include other parts of the Kranji and Sungei Kadut areas.

Giving an update on the Sungei Kadut cluster, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said there has been a third chikungunya case there. She is a 61-year-old clerk who works in Sungei Kadut Street 1.

Across the island, three more chikungunya cases - all local males - have also been reported: in Segar Road, Jalan Berjaya and Queen Street. Two are aged 48 and the third is 65 years old.

The nine new cases bring the total number of local cases to 63 and the affected areas in Singapore to 15.

This year alone, there have been 117 cases of chikungunya fever, of which 54 were imported cases with a history of travel.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event yesterday, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, referring to cases in the region, said: 'I don't think it's the mosquitoes crossing borders but patients do cross borders.' There was a huge volume of people coming and going.

'Workers come here to work and Singaporeans go there to visit, and this is the durian season, so many go for durian trips as well.'

He added that the Kranji cluster had significant numbers of foreign workers who crossed the borders every day.

In Johor, chikungunya was a bit of a problem, so new cases were appearing practically every day.

He advised Singaporeans to take preventive measures and see a doctor as soon as symptoms emerged so that cases can be isolated.

He added: 'What you hope for is that it will not become like dengue. Once it becomes like dengue, when it becomes endemic in Singapore, it will be very hard to get rid of it until scientists come up with a vaccine.

'So we are doing our very best to make sure that chikungunya does not decide to stay here permanently.'