- Singapore “emergency” as it grapples with an outbreak of seasonal disease that has come unusually early this year.
- It causes flu-like symptoms such as high fever, severe headaches and body pains.
- Storm clouds are seen in the western part of Singapore.
Singapore has declared a dengue “emergency” as it deals with an unusually early epidemic of seasonal disease this year as reported by CNN.
Another outbreak
The Southeast Asian city-state has already exceeded 11,000 cases — far beyond the 5,258 it reported throughout 2021 — and that was before June 1, when its peak dengue season traditionally begins.
That’s because changes in the global climate mean such outbreaks are likely to become more common and widespread in the coming years.
It causes flu-like symptoms such as high fever, severe headaches and body pains.
In extreme cases, bleeding, breathing difficulties, organ failure and even death can occur.
“It’s an urgent emergency phase now that we have to deal with.”
The outbreak in Singapore has been made worse by recent extreme weather, experts say, and its problem could be a harbinger of what is to come elsewhere as more countries experience prolonged hot weather spells and thundery showers that help to spread both the mosquitoes and the virus they carry.
Mortality in thousands
In 2019, the world recorded a record 5.2 million cases of dengue, according to the WHO, and outbreaks across Asia that year killed thousands.
This year, Singapore — where dengue has been endemic for decades — has so far seen just one dengue death but with the rising number of cases, authorities are taking no chances.
Dengue admissions at hospital emergency departments were increasing due to the recent surge, the spokesperson said, but remained at “a manageable level.”
But with peak season only just beginning, medical experts and doctors like Clarence Yeo Sze Kin say there’s a chance this year could set a record for the number of cases.
“Dengue is a seasonal disease and once it gets hot and dry, I usually start seeing more patients coming in,” he said.
Hotter days, warmer nights
Singapore’s dengue surge is the result of multiple factors like the recent warm, wet weather as well as a new dominant virus strain, said Ruklanthi de Alwis, a senior research fellow at the Duke-NUS Medical School and an expert in emerging infectious diseases.
But climate change, she said, was likely to make things worse.
“Past predictive modelling studies have shown that global warming due to climate change will eventually expand the geographical areas (in which mosquitoes thrive) as well as the length of dengue transmission seasons,” de Alwis said.
Maximum daily temperatures could reach 37 degrees Celsius by the year 2100 if carbon emissions continue to rise, its weather scientists have warned.
“We now experience about 12 more warm days and 12 more warm nights (compared to) 50 years ago.”
“We urge all residents to stay vigilant, and to check their homes thoroughly at least once a week for any stagnant water.”
Here to stay
As climate change worsens and the planet heats up, mosquito-borne diseases like Zika, chikungunya and dengue will likely continue to spread and have an ever greater impact on human health and well being.
The important question now, experts say, is whether politicians and policy-makers — the ones who will need to make the changes to slow climate change and prepare for its consequences — will see the impact of mosquito-borne diseases on human health and act.
“Changing environmental conditions are magnifying mosquito breeding rates so unless the climate emergency improves, it will become even more difficult to eliminate the risk of dengue fever altogether,” said Chow the climate scientist.
“And it will be a painful battle for Singapore in the long run.”
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Source: CNN
