2005 dengue outbreak in Singapore
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In the 2005 dengue outbreak in Singapore, a significant rise in the number of dengue fever cases was reported in Singapore, becoming the country's worst health crisis since the 2003 SARS epidemic. In October 2005, there were signs that the dengue fever outbreak had peaked, as the number of weekly cases had declined and the outbreak of this infectious disease declined by the end of 2005.
In 2005, there were a total of 14,209 dengue fever cases and 25 people died. The outbreak peaked in the months of September and October, when it caused hospitals to cancel some elective surgery due to the need to allocate more beds for dengue patients.
Dengue fever is transmitted to humans by the mosquito Aedes aegypti. The virus can cause fever, severe headache, joint and muscular pains, vomiting, diarrhoea and rashes. There is no commercially ready vaccine for dengue.
Singapore's health-care system is helping to maintain a low fatality rate at 0.1% (2005), which is lower than Southeast Asia's regional average of 0.8% in 2004, according to the World Health Organization.
The National Environment Agency said that the dengue fever problem may be worsening because of higher temperatures and changes in viral strains. The mean temperature has risen to 28.2 °C (82.8 °F) from 27.8 °C in 2003.
In the second week of September, more than 100 new cases were reported daily and many were admitted to public hospitals.
Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that one of the concerns is that more Singaporeans are infected with Dengue Type 3, which is a new strain of the dengue virus.
Some experts, such as Dr Paul Reiter, Professor of Entomology at the Pasteur Institute in France, suggested that Singapore's success in suppressing the dengue has partly contributed to this year sudden increase in dengue cases. The population born over the last two decades has a low herd immunity and therefore more susceptible to the virus. [1]
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