Singapore battles rise in dengue fever cases
Date: 10-Sep-02
Country: SINGAPORE
A mix of hot weather and regular downpours is being blamed for an average of 440 cases a month since June compared with 318 during the same period of last year.
Four people died of the mosquito-borne infection last year and two in 2000.
"The current rise is according to the El Nino phenomenon. This kind of weather causes the mosquito to breed and mature faster - that's why you have more mosquitoes," a National Environment Agency spokeswoman said yesterday.
"Our efforts are more aggressive during this period."
El Nino, which has raised the surface temperature in parts of the Pacific Ocean and contributed to a rash of smoky fires raging in Indonesia, was the culprit behind a record 4,300 cases of dengue in Singapore in 1997.
Health and environment officials do not expect a repeat of the outbreak five years ago, largely because El Nino is not as strong this year. But they are not taking any chances.
To inhibit mosquito breeding, the tropical island nation routinely clears standing water and pest control companies spray housing estates and bush lands with an acrid chemical fog.
This year, the environment agency has stepped up its public education programme island-wide and distributed sachets of insecticide to residents in the northeast of the city state whose gardens and potted plants are seen as prime breeding grounds.
Symptoms of dengue, caused by one of four closely related viruses, are similar to a severe case of influenza. The condition is seldom deadly, but dengue haemorrhagic fever is a potentially fatal complication.
The World Health Organisation estimates there may be 50 million cases of dengue infection each year, with 2.5 billion people - two fifths of the world's population - at risk.
