Two more Sota students diagnosed with chikungunya

Two School of the Arts (Sota) students are being treated for chikungunya fever after being diagnosed with the virus here, following a study trip to Thailand which saw many of their party taken ill.

Sota principal Mary Seah told The Straits Times yesterday that all 28 people who were on the Sota trip to Ratchaburi province - 25 students and three teachers - had returned to Singapore by Monday night.

Nine students and one teacher contracted the virus in Thailand, where they were diagnosed with and treated for the mosquito-borne condition.

They have since recovered, but two more from the group were diagnosed in Singapore on Monday.

One student received outpatient treatment at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, while the other was still hospitalised yesterday, a Ministry of Health (MOH) spokesman said.

Sota had notified parents of the students affected, with some flying to Bangkok to be with their children.

Chikungunya fever is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also spreads the Zika and dengue viruses. Its symptoms are similar to those of Zika and dengue, with the main symptoms being fever and joint pain.

  • 28

    Number of people who were on the School of the Arts trip to Thailand's Ratchaburi province - 25 students and three teachers. All had returned to Singapore by Monday night.

In most cases, people recover fully, but joint pain may persist for weeks to years.

As of Monday, 11 chikungunya cases had been reported in Singapore this year. Ten were imported and one was a local case.

Between 2016 and last year, two to three local cases were reported each year.

There are no recent reports of active transmission of chikungunya, but Singaporeans should remain vigilant at all times about mosquito breeding in homes and workplaces, MOH said.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 05, 2019, with the headline Two more Sota students diagnosed with chikungunya. Subscribe