Dengue Cases Spiked So Much During Circuit Breaker, Urgent Actions Are Required

By
George Yang
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Everyone has been working hard to stop the spread of the coronavirus in the last eight weeks.

But do you know that another virus is wreaking havoc in our society?

As the number of COVID-19 dropped, the number of dengue cases has increased sharply.

735 Weekly Dengue Cases Last Week

If you come in to our app daily, you’d know about Dengue virus serotype 3 (DENV-3).

It’s an old virus that’s not been in Singapore for 30 years, but made a comeback this year because 2020 is the worst year in modern history.

And because we’re not immune to it, the number of dengue cases since the beginning of the year has been abnormally high; there have been 300 to 400 new dengue cases weekly.

But last week, there were 735 cases—the highest we’ve seen since the peak dengue years in 2013 and 2014.

Last year, the total number of dengue cases was 15,998. As of yesterday, there have been 9,261 cases this year.

12 people have also died from dengue so far.

Circuit Breaker: Coronavirus Killer But Dengue Lover

One of the reasons for the influx of dengue cases is due to what we do during Circuit Breaker.

The mosquitoes responsible for dengue primarily live indoor and bite during the day—which means it’s a feast for these mosquitoes that’ve been roaming around an empty house for years.

Also, with more us staying at home, we’ve not just created a buffet for these mosquitoes; we might have unintentionally created the perfect breeding environment for them.

Mr Chew Ming Fai, Director-General of NEA’s Environmental Public Health Division, said, “As we continue to manage the COVID-19 situation, we need to be mindful that dengue is another serious public health threat that Singapore faces. We have entered the traditional peak dengue season, when we experience the onset of warmer weather and see higher transmission of dengue in Singapore. During our inspections, we continue to find mosquito breeding in common habitats, such as flower pot plates and domestic containers.

“Lack of care or diligence in maintaining one’s premises or home could easily lead to mosquito breeding, putting the whole community at risk. Weekly dengue case numbers are likely to continue to rise, and more dengue clusters will form in the coming weeks to months.

“NEA will continue with our inspection and enforcement efforts, and we will not hesitate to take action against anyone found to have created conditions favourable for the propagation or harbouring of vectors.”

What We Must Do

Similar to how to stop COVID-19, we need to be proactive to stop the transmission of dengue.

This includes doing the 5-step Mozzie Wipeout:

Image: nea.gov.sg

How Dangerous is Dengue Fever?

You haven’t gone forward to do the 5-step Mozzie Wipeout?

Then let this convince you.

You’d have known that dengue fever is caused by the dengue virus that’s spread by the Aedes mosquitoes, but do you know that you can get what is known as “severe dengue”, especially if you’re an elderly, or you’re infected the second time with a different strain of the virus?

When this happens, the victim might need to be treated in an intensive care unit, and delayed treatment might lead to shock or multi-organ failure, which can be fatal.

So if you’re scared now, go do the 5-step Mozzie Wipeout immediately. Whether you’re a Woodlander, Yishunite or Tampiner.

Also, the authorities have placed Gravitraps, some thingy that looks like a mini rubbish bin, in residential estates to trap mosquitoes. You can do your part by not treating them as ashtray or bringing them back home for your cat to play with.

Image: Facebook (ROADS.sg)

Now, remember: you’ve done so much to prevent the transmission of the coronavirus. Just do a little bit more to stop the spread of dengue.

Wait got Circuit Breaker for dengue then you know.

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George Yang
Email: [email protected]