The number of dengue cases in Singapore has crossed the 8,000 mark in the first five months of 2022, exceeding the number of infections reported in the whole of 2021. The Straits Times examines the threat of the disease and how people are dealing with it.
Dengue is not 'next Covid-19', but threat must still be taken seriously: Experts
Although dengue is not the next Covid-19, the threat it poses must still be taken seriously, experts told The Straits Times.
This is because the disease can still kill, and may also impose a burden on hospitals and the economy here.
However, the experts added that because of the nature of dengue, any public health measures taken are unlikely to be the same as those implemented to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Life in a dengue hot spot: Residents shun playgrounds and keep windows shut
The playground at The Creek @ Bukit and many of the public areas in the condominium in Toh Tuck Road have been quiet over the past two months.
Windows are shut, blinds are drawn, and the poolside is almost vacant as residents try to avoid getting bitten by Aedes mosquitoes.
As at Friday (May 13), 78 people within the low-rise apartment complex have been infected with dengue.
'I would wake up with a mouth full of blood': Dengue patient shares his ordeal
When Mr Gary Yang came down with a fever and body aches in August 2020, he feared the worst - that he had Covid-19.
This was, after all, before vaccines had been made available to the public, and before the coronavirus was declared endemic in Singapore. So when his Covid-19 test results came back negative, he heaved a sigh of relief.
It was short-lived, as he was informed shortly after that he had tested positive for dengue.
'They were burning hot': Father whose two kids got dengue feared the worst
When Mr Joakim Smidhagen heard the news in April this year that his neighbour who had dengue a few years ago had got it again, he sent him well-wishes.
He did not think much of it - and it certainly did not cross his mind that his own two sons and family helper would get infected soon after.
This, despite his home - a landed property in the Newton area - being in the vicinity of several dengue clusters in the past.
Her children shielded her from Covid-19 but woman, 82, dies of dengue
For two years, Ms Claudia Teo, 55, did everything to shield her 82-year-old mother from Covid-19.
Madam Han Ai Hoon was not allowed to go to crowded places without wearing a clear plastic face covering over her mask. If they were out, Ms Teo would pass her the hand sanitiser every hour.
She also closely monitored her mother's diabetes and hypertension.
