Date: Thu 17 Jan 2008
Source: Reuters Foundation AlertNet [edited]
<http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SIN179469.htm >
The Ministry of Health said on Thursday [17 Jan 2008] 6 people in
Singapore have been infected by the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus.
"This is the 1st instance of local transmission of the disease.
Previous cases were imported, where patients caught the virus
overseas and brought it back to Singapore," a Ministry of Health
spokeswoman told Reuters.
To date, 2 patients have been admitted to the isolation ward of the
Communicable Disease Centre.
All 6 patients were living in close proximity to each other in the
southeastern part of the city-state. "It's still a localised
infection at the moment," she added.
The Ministry of Health has begun to screen people living or working
in the same area.
Chikungunya fever, like dengue fever, is a mosquito-borne disease,
characterised by sudden onset of fever, chills, headache, nausea,
vomiting, joint pain, back pain, and sometimes a rash. Most symptoms
last for 3-10 days, but joint pains may last for weeks to months.
The chikungunya virus was carried mostly by the _Aedes aegypti_
mosquito. It caused an epidemic that began in Kenya in 2004 and
spread to several Indian Ocean islands including the Comoros,
Mauritius, the Seychelles, Madagascar, Mayotte, and Reunion.
[Byline: Jennifer Tan; editing: Jeremy Laurence]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall
[Chikungunya virus continues to spread in Southeast Asia. This report
provides another example of chikungunya virus being introduced into
an area where there are sufficient populations of competent mosquito
vectors to permit local virus transmission, similar to, but not as
extensive as the outbreak in Italy during the summer of 2007 (see
ProMED-mail 20071210.3980).
The report indicates that chikungunya virus was mainly transmitted by
_Aedes aegypti_. It was not clear if the report was addressing
chikungunya virus transmission everywhere (with chikungunya virus
transmission by _Ae. albopictus_ involvement in some other places) or
specifically in Singapore. ProMED-mail would appreciate clarification
if any other mosquito vectors were involved in this small outbreak,
and information about any mosquito control measures being taken as
well as occurrence of any additional cases.
ProMED thanks Dan Silver for providing a similar report from Singapore.
An interactive HealthMap/ProMED-mail map of Singapore can be accessed at
<http://healthmap.org/promed?v=1.4,103.8,6>. - Mod.TY]
Source: Reuters Foundation AlertNet [edited]
<http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SIN179469.htm >
The Ministry of Health said on Thursday [17 Jan 2008] 6 people in
Singapore have been infected by the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus.
"This is the 1st instance of local transmission of the disease.
Previous cases were imported, where patients caught the virus
overseas and brought it back to Singapore," a Ministry of Health
spokeswoman told Reuters.
To date, 2 patients have been admitted to the isolation ward of the
Communicable Disease Centre.
All 6 patients were living in close proximity to each other in the
southeastern part of the city-state. "It's still a localised
infection at the moment," she added.
The Ministry of Health has begun to screen people living or working
in the same area.
Chikungunya fever, like dengue fever, is a mosquito-borne disease,
characterised by sudden onset of fever, chills, headache, nausea,
vomiting, joint pain, back pain, and sometimes a rash. Most symptoms
last for 3-10 days, but joint pains may last for weeks to months.
The chikungunya virus was carried mostly by the _Aedes aegypti_
mosquito. It caused an epidemic that began in Kenya in 2004 and
spread to several Indian Ocean islands including the Comoros,
Mauritius, the Seychelles, Madagascar, Mayotte, and Reunion.
[Byline: Jennifer Tan; editing: Jeremy Laurence]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall
[Chikungunya virus continues to spread in Southeast Asia. This report
provides another example of chikungunya virus being introduced into
an area where there are sufficient populations of competent mosquito
vectors to permit local virus transmission, similar to, but not as
extensive as the outbreak in Italy during the summer of 2007 (see
ProMED-mail 20071210.3980).
The report indicates that chikungunya virus was mainly transmitted by
_Aedes aegypti_. It was not clear if the report was addressing
chikungunya virus transmission everywhere (with chikungunya virus
transmission by _Ae. albopictus_ involvement in some other places) or
specifically in Singapore. ProMED-mail would appreciate clarification
if any other mosquito vectors were involved in this small outbreak,
and information about any mosquito control measures being taken as
well as occurrence of any additional cases.
ProMED thanks Dan Silver for providing a similar report from Singapore.
An interactive HealthMap/ProMED-mail map of Singapore can be accessed at
<http://healthmap.org/promed?v=1.4,103.8,6>. - Mod.TY]
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