MOH probe into malaria hot spots

Straits Times 8 Jun 09;

THE Health Ministry (MOH) is investigating two clusters of malaria transmission on Jurong Island and in the Sungei Kadut/Mandai area.

A total of 14 people, all but one of whom are foreign workers, fell ill last month and were found to have malaria. One full-time national serviceman was also among the clusters. Twelve of them have been discharged as of last Saturday.

All 14 patients, aged between 20 and 40, had no recent travel history, leading the MOH to suspect that there is local malaria transmission in the areas.

Malaria, like dengue fever, is a mosquito-borne disease. It is spread by the Anopheles mosquito.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has inspected the worksites, dormitories and its surrounding areas. The agency is conducting adult-mosquito trapping and search-and-destroy operations. NEA has also asked the dormitory operators to carry out measures to rid the area of mosquitoes.

The last local malaria cases were in 2007 when there were also two clusters - one involving three NS men and the other involving two Redhill residents.

First H1N1, now malaria
Today Online 8 Jun 09;

IF THE battle against Influenza A (H1N1) was not bad enough, now there are suspected malaria clusters to contend with - one on Jurong Island and the other in the Sungei Kadut-Mandai area.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) and National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a joint statement they are investigating the two clusters of suspected local transmission involving 14 people.

“All 14 cases had no recent travel history overseas, suggesting that there is possible local transmission in the affected areas,” they said. As of yesterday, all but one of the 14 had been discharged.

The Jurong Island cluster involves five cases comprising male foreign workers aged 25 to 37. They reportedly had the onset of illness between May 3 and 25, with symptoms such as fever, headache and chills.

Four of the infected individuals work at the same site and stay in the same dormitory on the island. The fifth person works on the island close to the dormitory and worksite of the other four.

The cluster in the Sungei Kadut-Mandai area involves nine people aged between 20 and 40 and includes eight foreign workers in different dormitories and one full-time national serviceman. They started experiencing the symptoms between May 16 and 30.

The NEA has conducted inspections at the worksites and dormitories of the workers and its surrounding areas.

Adult mosquito trapping and search and destroy operations are continuing. The agency has directed the dormitory operators and their pest controllers to carry out residual spraying to all blocks, night thermal fogging and adult light trapping.

Asked why the public was only informed now about the suspected outbreak, a Health Ministry spokeswoman explained: “It takes time for the epidemiological investigations to be done. The cases were also spread out over a few weeks.”

In their advisory, MOH and NEA said the best way to prevent malaria is to take precautionary measures against mosquitoes and prevent their breeding.

Persons diagnosed with illness should be isolated so as to reduce the risk of further mosquito bites and transmission of the virus.