The spontaneous emergence of the disease, in two distinct areas, is a cause for concern
By
Salma Khalik, Health Correspondent
Singapore has been malaria-free since 1982 - with no sustained local transmissions - though it still sees between 100 and 300 imported cases a year. -- ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN
SINGAPORE is fighting the biggest outbreak of locally transmitted malaria it has seen in possibly more than a decade. Over the past five weeks, at least 15 people have been infected with malaria locally, with the latest case only known on Monday.
The last time there was an outbreak was in 2006, when 13 people caught the disease locally.
Singapore has been malaria-free since 1982 - with no sustained local transmissions - although it still sees between 100 and 300 imported cases a year.
Of greater concern is the apparent spontaneous emergence of the parasitic infection in two distinct locations - Sungei Kadut/Mandai in the north and Jurong Island in the south-west.
Like dengue, which is endemic here, malaria is a mosquito-borne disease. But it is more severe and deadly, said Dr Lim Poh Lian, a senior infectious disease consultant at the Communicable Disease Centre (CDC).
Symptoms of malaria include fever, headache, chills and vomiting. They usually appear between 10 and 15 days after the mosquito bites, although the parasites have been known to lie dormant for up to a year.
If untreated, the malarial parasites could burst red blood cells, leading to seizures and ultimately death.
But 'malaria can be treated and cured', said Dr Lim. Patients are given one medicine to get rid of the parasites in their blood, and a different one to get rid of any that may lie dormant in their liver.
Singapore has been malaria-free since 1982 - with no sustained local transmissions - though it still sees between 100 and 300 imported cases a year. These are people who are sick here, after getting infected overseas. They are quickly isolated to prevent the disease from spreading here.
There have been isolated cases of local transmissions - when an Anopheles mosquito bites someone with malaria and passes it on to another person - but these are usually just a handful a year.
This time, five people on Jurong Island became ill between May 3 and May 25, while 10 people in the north started falling ill from May 16.
Read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.
