There were 1,526 cases in first 13 weeks of the year; anti-dengue drive launched in Clementi
Leow Si Wan, Straits Times 16 Apr 09;
WITH warmer weather looming, the number of dengue cases is set to rise.
The total number of cases for the first 13 weeks of the year was 1,526, a 22 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
There are 14 hot spots with two or more infections identified so far, mostly in the West Coast areas.
Most of the cases involve the Den-2 virus, one of the two common types found in Singapore.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) maintains that weekly fluctuations in cases are to be expected in the normal course of the disease.
But with the coming warm weather likely to increase the mosquito population, South West District Mayor Amy Khor has expressed concern over a possible surge in dengue cases in the next few months.
Anticipating this, the South West Community Development Council swung into action, launching an anti- dengue initiative at Clementi Avenue 5 yesterday.
It is working with the NEA, town councils, grassroots organisations and schools.
The main thrust of the initiative is to prevent mosquitoes from finding fertile breeding spots.
Said Dr Khor: 'The period from April to September every year is always very conducive to dengue and mosquito breeding. This year, we are launching the Mcaps Outreach@South West Programme to reduce the probability of mosquito breeding at home.'
The new Mcaps, or Mosquito Caps, cover clothes pole holders and close automatically when the poles are removed from the holders. Each cap costs $3.50.
Clementi was chosen to kick off the South West anti-dengue movement, said an NEA official, because schools in the area were very supportive. In all, 15 were roped in to help distribute the caps to needy residents.
Clementi Avenue 5 is also one of the current dengue clusters.
Student volunteers were briefed and provided with insect repellent. Some 480 of them from five secondary schools in the South-West Green School programme went around the neighbourhood distributing Mcaps to 2,000 needy households yesterday.
One recipient was Madam Soon Ya Li. The 62-year-old housewife said: 'In the past, I often forgot to replace the caps when I removed the bamboo poles. This new cap will make things easier.'
Until September, the schools in the programme will also take turns to scour the neighbourhood for receptacles containing stagnant water. Their job is to flip these containers over and paste 'You Got Flipped!' stickers on them.
They will also distribute guidebooks, mosquito repellent and other materials to spread the anti-dengue message.
Last year, there were 7,032 dengue cases in Singapore. At the height of the last epidemic here in 2005, more than 14,000 people were infected and 25 of them died.
Dengue cases usually follow a six- to seven-year cyclical trend, with each year surpassing the one before. Singapore is in the third year of a cycle that began in 2007.
siwan@sph.com.sg
Top five clusters
A DENGUE cluster is formed by two or more cases occurring within 14 days, and when the victims' homes are less than 150m apart.
A cluster is closed when no new case is reported 14 days after the last one.
The West Coast area has the highest number of dengue cases currently. The first cluster, in West Coast Drive (Blocks 505, 506, 507, 508, 510 and 511), has 13 cases.
The second cluster, in West Coast Drive (Blocks 95 and 113A) and West Coast Lane/West Coast Place, has eight cases.
Two other clusters - Sirat Road/Highland Road and Boon Keng Road - each have six. Clementi Avenue 3 (Blocks 428, 430, 431 and 445) rounds up the top five clusters with four cases.
For updates on dengue clusters, please visit the NEA's dengue website at www.dengue.gov.sg
