Corona, monkey pox to dengue fever? “Singapore dengue fever outbreak will affect the world”

<!—-> ▲ Dengue fever mosquito data photo. Source = CNN

As soon as the global spread of COVID-19 has stabilized somewhat, dengue cases are rapidly increasing in Singapore. Experts were concerned that dengue might affect not only Singapore but the world.

According to a report by CNN on the 7th, dengue fever spreads in Singapore in earnest in June, but as of May 28, 11,670 confirmed cases have been reported across Singapore. This is well above the 5258 cases reported in 2021 alone.

Dengue fever is a disease caused by the dengue virus infecting humans and is transmitted by the bite of a mosquito carrying the dengue virus. Mosquitoes carrying the dengue virus are mainly distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and the South Pacific, Africa, and the Americas.

Dengue fever causes a sudden high fever, and the fever lasts for 3 to 5 days. Symptoms such as severe headache, muscle pain, joint pain, and loss of appetite appear, and in severe cases, it can lead to dengue hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome.

▲ In July 2021, Singapore quarantine authorities are spraying insecticides to combat dengue fever. photo = CNN

Singapore’s Interior Minister Desmond Tan said: “The number of cases of dengue is increasing rapidly. He was faced with an emergency phase,” he said.

CNN quoted an expert as saying, “The reason for the unusually rapid increase in dengue cases in Singapore is the recent hot and humid extreme weather. This is an environment that helps dengue mosquitoes spread the virus to other places more easily.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) in the ‘Global Dengue Fever Report’ in January said, “Dengue fever is currently designated as endemic in more than 100 countries. “The number of reported cases of dengue has increased 30-fold over the past 50 years,” he said.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2019 alone, there were 5.2 million cases of dengue fever reported worldwide and thousands of deaths. At that time, hundreds of people died from dengue in the Philippines, and dengue was designated as a national epidemic, and many confirmed cases were also reported in Bangladesh. At the time, Afghanistan was the first to report a case of dengue fever.

▲ Storm clouds captured in western Singapore. photo = CNN

A spokesperson for Singapore’s Ministry of Health said in an interview with CNN, “As of the 28th of last month, regarding 11,670 cases of dengue fever have been reported, of which regarding 10% require hospitalization. “It has the potential to set an all-time record,” he said.

“Dengue fever is a seasonal disease, and as the weather gets warmer, more cases will occur,” he said.

Winston Chow, a climate scientist at the Singapore Business School, told CNN that “there will be no eradication of dengue fever as the continued extreme climate creates perfect breeding conditions for mosquitoes. Given this continuing trend, the dengue problem in Singapore might only get worse.”

Reporter Song Hyeon-seo [e-mail]