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In 2004, dengue fever cases in Singapore doubled to 9,459 – the highest in 10 years – over the previous year’s 4,788. This follows a global upsurge, which saw high dengue cases in the region. Last year Jakarta had 18,000 cases and Malaysia, 33,203. In the first four months of 2005, Thailand saw a 43 per cent jump to 6,689 dengue fever cases.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the disease is now endemic in more than 100 countries – Africa, the Americas, the eastern Mediterranean, South East Asia & Western Pacific. Some 2,500 million people – two fifths of the world's population – are now at risk from dengue. WHO currently estimates there may be 50 million cases of dengue infection worldwide every year.
A number of factors could have contributed to the increase such as mosquito population density, temperature, circulating virus strain and herd immunity.
At the moment, there are no vaccines available for dengue and the most effective way to fight dengue is to prevent the Aedes mosquito from breeding in stagnant water and keeping the mosquito population low.
“NEA uses a pre-emptive approach and far-reaching programmes to tackle dengue fever by conducting active surveillance, and breaking the source of transmission as quickly as possible when clusters arise,” said Mr Khoo Seow Poh, NEA’s Director-General, Public Health.
NEA’s vector control operations teams operate from five regional offices located in the North-West, North-East, Central, South-East and South-West of Singapore. They conduct routine inspections and preventive surveillance and educate the residents on proper control measures in dengue-sensitive neighbourhoods. Additional teams are deployed wherever outbreaks occur.
In addition, NEA works with the management corporations / managing agents of condominiums to make their mosquito breeding prevention efforts more effective. NEA also works with the Town Councils to enhance their mosquito control measures for common areas in the housing estates. The launch of the Technical Reference for vector management in March this year, which sets new pest management standards, will certainly aid these efforts.
NEA's 'Mozzie Attack' programme has been successfully rolled out to all 84 constituencies. The programme rallies the public to get rid of breeding habitats for Aedes mosquitoes, such as stagnant water and household objects that hold such water. Grassroots organisations have been very supportive of NEA in the fight against dengue. Some 3,000 volunteers make house-to-house visits to remind homeowners to prevent breeding in their homes.
On 1 February 2005, NEA revised its enforcement by giving homeowners found breeding for the first time a $100 fine instead of a warning letter. This was a strong message to get them to play their part in keeping their neighbourhood mosquito-free.
In the last months of the year under review, NEA had distributed pamphlets to raise awareness on dengue fever to 1,290 GP clinics, and displayed posters at lift lobbies of every HDB flat and condominium. Dengue prevention messages were also put up at bus shelters, MRT trains and stations to remind the public of the steps to take to prevent mosquito breeding. |
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