News

The article, (Dec 27), makes a timely call for Singapore to take a more proactive and coordinated approach to deal with the dengue menace. I was one of the 30,000 people infected by the dengue virus in 2022. Perhaps more could be done to highlight the debilitating effects of the disease. Obviously, the warnings that “dengue can kill” are often not taken seriously enough. My dengue infection began with excruciating pain from what is known as “break-bone” fever.  While the fever subsided, it was followed by a dangerous drop in my blood platelet count. The discomfort was compounded by rashes on my body.  Although the symptoms were gone in two weeks, the overall sense of unease and discomfort continued for almost a month.   The clinical aspects of the worst symptoms are under-communicated in the National Environment Agency’s campaign, which focuses on the steps people should take to stop mosquito breeding. One can understand them only when one is infected and has to go through the loss of productive days while nursing the disease. There are also repeated visits to the doctor to draw blood and monitor the platelet count. Perhaps we can also look at other measures, such as building more ponds in housing estates to attract dragonflies – natural predators of mosquitoes. The dangers of dengue cannot be underestimated. If an adult like me found the effects of the disease to be unbearable, what more toddlers or the elderly?