Singapore: Dengue fever on the rise as peak season begins; here's all you need to know

Dengue fever infections are on the rise in Singapore, with the number of new cases in the first five months of this year surpassing the figure for the entire year of 2021. From January through the middle of May, more than 8,500 cases of dengue fever were reported.

Dengue season, which lasts from June through October, in Singapore, is just getting started. The country's National Environment Agency has issued a warning that a big epidemic could occur this year. Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne virus that can cause outbreaks that overwhelm hospitals.

What are the symptoms?

A high temperature, headache, vomiting, muscular discomfort, joint problems, and a skin rash are all signs of infection. Abdominal pain, rapid breathing, a bloated liver, blood in the stool, or vomiting, according to experts, are all warning symptoms of a more serious condition. Doctors believe that numerous factors are contributing to the increase in Singapore, including an increase in the less common serotype DenV-3, which means that most people are immune.

Singapore is a favourite vacation spot for inhabitants of the United Arab Emirates. Following the relaxation of COVID-19 limitations, travel between the UAE and Singapore has now resumed. "Dengue fever is uncommon in the UAE, and it is brought in by travellers from endemic locations throughout the world," said Dr. Brijesh Bhardwaj, an internal medicine specialist and head of department at NMC Royal Hospital, DIP, Dubai, National news reported.

How does the virus infect humans?

The virus has four different serotypes. Infection with one confers immunity to all four for around a year, as well as permanent protection from the specific variety. However, due to a phenomenon known as antibody dependent enhancement, catching another serotype later can result in more severe symptoms. This occurs when antibodies from a previous dengue infection bind to an infectious particle of a different dengue serotype but are unable to neutralise it, allowing it to more efficiently infect a kind of white blood cell.

The Aedes species — Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus — mosquitoes are the carriers of the virus. When a mosquito picks up dengue from an infected person, it incubates the virus until it reproduces enough to establish a reservoir before biting more individuals. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some 4 billion people live in places where dengue is present, and 400 million individuals are infected with dengue each year. Approximately 40,000 of them perish.

Last year, researchers in Indonesia discovered that when an army of mosquitos is infected with a virus-inhibiting bacteria, the rate of dengue disease drops dramatically. In Yogyakarta, Indonesia, the study resulted in a 77% reduction in infection and an 86% reduction in hospital cases. The study was motivated by the hypothesis that mosquitos infected with the bacteria Wolbachia had a harder time transmitting viruses to humans, resulting in fewer occurrences.

The bacterium can be found in 60% of insect species and coexists with viruses like dengue fever in the same sections of the mosquito body. Dengue fever can't replicate as easily as before, therefore mosquitos are less likely to spread the virus.

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