S'pore goes all out to fight disease<\/p>\n
As the Jakarta administration, as well as the nation, struggles
\nto contain the bird flu outbreak that has killed at least five
\npeople in Greater Jakarta and infected others, learning about how
\nneighboring city-state Singapore deals with epidemic disease is
\nworth looking at. In this third article, The Jakarta Post's Damar
\nHarsanto observes the issue during a visit to the city last week
\nat the invitation of the Far East Organization Singapore Pte.
\nLtd.<\/p>\n
It's not for nothing that city-state Singapore has cleanliness
\nand orderliness as its middle name.<\/p>\n
Without such a reputation, the government may not have been
\nable to curb the recent dengue fever outbreak that claimed eight
\npeople and infected more than 100 Singaporeans per day, or over
\n10,200 people this year, mostly younger residents.<\/p>\n
The outbreak, referred to by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as
\na \"worrying\" situation, has surpassed last year's total figure of
\nonly 9,459 cases across a country with a population of 4.2
\nmillion.<\/p>\n
Although officials there -- just like Indonesian officials --
\nfailed to act swiftly to residents' reports of mosquito breeding
\nsites, the officials, fortunately, were quick to realize their
\nmistake.<\/p>\n
Yaacob Ibrahim, the minister in charge of a high-level
\ncommittee on dengue, apologized for those incidents and gave an
\norder to relevant authorities to break into properties to look
\nfor hotspots of mosquito breeding.<\/p>\n
Comparing the crisis to 2003's outbreak of severe acute
\nrespiratory syndrome (SARS) that killed 33 people, PM Lee
\nstressed the need to get people involved in the battle against
\nthe outbreak and \"to take the threat seriously\".<\/p>\n
\"It is hard to understand because in the past, Singapore has
\nhad a very sophisticated dengue surveillance and prevention
\nsystem,\" said Kevin Palmer, a dengue expert with the World Health
\nOrganization (WHO) regional office in Manila was quoted as saying
\nby Agence France-Presse.<\/p>\n
\"Singapore is a place where dengue should not be a problem,
\nbut it is, and there must be an explanation why we are seeing
\nsuch a big rise in cases this year,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In the years past, it has been construction sites that have
\nbecome mosquito breeding grounds. Now, private residences have
\nbeen identified as the culprits.<\/p>\n
The government says that residents with mosquito larvae
\ngrowing in their homes could face fines of between S$10 and $100.<\/p>\n
On Sundays, hundreds of grassroots leaders and volunteers
\nscoured places suspected to be mosquito breeding grounds across
\nthe city as part of house-to-house checks aimed at curbing the
\noutbreak.<\/p>\n
\"In the short term, we hope to reduce the Aedes aegypti
\nmosquito to a low level,\" senior parliamentary secretary Koo Tsai
\nKee said.<\/p>\n
Seven hundred staff from the Civil Defense Force, members of
\nparliament and others were also involved in sweeping four areas
\nthat have been the worst hit by the outbreak.<\/p>\n
The government also distributed flyers detailing measures to
\nprevent mosquito breeding.<\/p>\n
The National Environment Agency (NEA), a government
\ninstitution in charge of overseeing environmental problems, has
\nopened two 24-hour tip-off hotlines -- for both English and non-
\nEnglish speakers -- to report potential and actual mosquito
\nbreeding sites.<\/p>\n
Callers and those who send e-mails are encouraged to give
\ntheir names, contact numbers and the location and description of
\nmosquito breeding areas or potential breeding sites. They can
\nremain anonymous if they wish, the NEA said.<\/p>\n
Since the first action was launched last Tuesday, some 1,000
\ncalls have been logged each day, three times the usual number the
\nNEA gets on its general hotline.<\/p>\n
All residents have been urged to remove water in pot plant
\nplates where mosquitoes like to breed. Residents of housing
\nblocks have been told to avoid placing potted plants over drains.<\/p>\n
The health ministry is drawing on advice from an international
\nteam of scientists and spending $30 million (US$18 million) on
\nthe eradication drive.<\/p>\n
The government has also told hospitals to suspend non-
\nemergency surgery to cope with the large number of dengue
\npatients.<\/p>\n
WHO officials say dengue has infected more than 100,000 people
\nthis year in Southeast Asia. An outbreak in Timor spread rapidly
\nto Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and
\nSingapore. Indonesia has been the worst hit.<\/p>",
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