We refer to Dr Ong Siew Chey’s letter “Dengue Fever Outbreak: Prevention Possible”, published in the recent September issue of Annals.
According to the World Health Organisation, dengue has become the fastest growing mosquito-borne disease in an expanding list of countries. Our status as a travel hub results in a continual influx of genetically diverse dengue virus strains into Singapore. Our vector control efforts have kept our mosquito population relatively low and our population has low herd immunity. This makes us especially susceptible to viral strains with higher epidemic potential. A virus capable of replicating faster in the mosquito vector or human host will be selectively amplified over other strains.
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