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UNLIKE in other parts of the region, dengue here claims few child victims. Only one in 10 people who have contracted dengue this year is under the age of 18.
But when the disease does strike the young, it can take two very different paths - one in which the disease is so mild, it can pass without detection, and another much more virulent form.
The more serious form is not something to be scoffed at, say doctors. Children are more likely to die of dengue than adults.
The main complication of dengue involves 'vascular permeability' - or how robust the walls of the blood vessels are, said Associate Professor Leo Yee Sin, clinical director of the Communicable Disease Centre.
The more permeable these blood vessel walls are, the more leakage of blood plasma takes place, resulting in the more severe form of dengue - dengue haemorrhagic fever.
'There are some individuals who tend to leak more. These are usually children, the elderly and females during reproductive period,' said Prof Leo.
If too much fluid is lost, the victim can develop dengue shock syndrome, in which organs fail, and death may result. This year, dengue has claimed three lives. But all the victims were elderly.
Dengue in children can be as uncomfortable as in adults. Just ask Teo Zheng Kuan, 12, who woke up one day during the recent school holidays with a high fever, feeling sick and exhausted.
Three days later, his arm started to swell and turn red, and he could not keep food down at all.
The next day, his blood platelet count dipped so low, he had to be admitted to National University Hospital. He was put on a drip and coaxed to drink as much juice as he could, so his fluid levels would not go down further. It took him almost two weeks to recover, said his mum, 48-year-old Irene Teo.
Of the 3,597 dengue victims in the first six months of the year, 412 were under 18. This is low compared to elsewhere in the region, where dengue haemorrhagic fever is one of the 10 leading causes of hospitalisation and death among children, according to the World Health Organisation.
According to 2005 figures, dengue here is very uncommon in children under five.
But that is not to say they do not get it. The youngest dengue patient seen at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) was an 11-day-old baby, during the 2005 dengue outbreak.
'Children of all age groups can come down with dengue, but it is usually the older children above the age of seven who develop the more serious forms, such as dengue haemorrhagic fever,' said a KKH spokesman.
That is why many schools are not taking any chances.
At Aces Montessori Kidz Kindergarten in Pasir Ris, where dengue transmission is high and where at least 60 people have been hit by dengue, indoor plants have been removed.
Applying insect repellent before participating in outdoor activities has become as routine as putting on shoes and socks, said principal Janette Chong, 47.
Other childcare centres keep children away from public playgrounds when they are wet.
At home, people are also extra careful. Ms Lina Chong, 28, assistant secretary of Pasir Ris East Citizens Consultative Committee, has even given away the family terrapins in case mosquitoes breed in the tank.
She lives with her 17-month- old nephew, who has mosquito repellent applied daily. 'Dengue is... not something to take lightly,' said Ms Chong, who caught dengue herself last month.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ANDREA ONG AND LEE HUI CHIEH
arti@sph.com.sg
andreao@sph.com.sg
huichieh@sph.com.sg
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