SINGAPORE — Singapore has reported a jump in dengue-fever infections in recent weeks, and the epidemic is likely to drag on for a few months longer than usual, according to experts.
The outbreak in terms of infections has proven to be the worst on record, with more than 16,000 cases reported to the government so far in 2013.
The recent high was 455 new cases in the week that ended Sept. 7 and 386 in the previous week. Weekly counts surged to an all-time high of 820 cases in the week that ended June 8 but had fallen in the following weeks.
The five deaths this year, however, are less than the previous worst year, 2005, when 27 people died and 14,006 people were in infected.
Dengue fever, a viral infection endemic to tropical and subtropical climates, is characterized by high fever, body aches and intense headache. The virus is transmitted to humans mainly by the female Aedes aegypti mosquito, an urban-dwelling pest that lays its eggs in stagnant water. Scientists are proposing a new way to fight dengue – putting guppies, who love to eat mosquito larvae, in pots and other containers in cities.
No vaccine or specific treatment is available for dengue, although a World Health Organization officials says a vaccine may be available as early as next year.
Treatment is limited to intravenous rehydration. Blood platelets get destroyed in dengue leading to blood or plasma leakage. A patient can slip into a ‘dengue shock’ with dangerously low blood pressure.
About 500,000 people with severe dengue require hospitalization globally each year, of which about 2.5% die, according to the World Health Organization. But early detection and access to medical care can bring fatality rates below 1%.
Singapore is still in its peak dengue season, from May to October, in which warmer temperatures help the mosquitoes multiply faster.
The government has stepped up its educational campaign to try to prevent breeding of mosquitoes and is advising people likely to be exposed to the virus to use repellents. Advertisements encouraging residents to “Do the Mozzie Wipeout,” by ensuring that no water stagnates in buckets, flower vases and other places at home, have been running since April as the Southeast Asian city-state, home to 5.3 million people, maintains a strict disease and mosquito surveillance regime.
Singapore imposes fines on residents whose homes are found breeding mosquitoes, and potential jail sentences for repeat offenders.