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SINGAPORE – Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Human Resources Low Yen Ling has contracted dengue fever, placing it among the hundreds of people who have become ill in recent days as Singapore enters its peak season for the disease.
Ms Low is a deputy for Chua Chu Kang GRC, home to some of the high-risk areas for dengue in Singapore.
She said in a Facebook post on Monday (May 11) morning: “Since I just contracted dengue fever, please be patient with me if my email response is delayed. The doctor has advised me to take a little time these days to rest and recover
“This incident is another reminder that we are all susceptible to dengue and it is a war that we cannot fight alone. We need each other, more than ever before, to keep our families and homes safe from dengue.”
Singapore has seen an increase in dengue infections this year, with around 300 to 400 new cases reported each week, and more than 6,900 dengue cases since January, more than double the same period last year.
This year’s number of cases is projected to exceed last year’s peak of 16,000.
The country is now in its traditional dengue high season, which lasts from May to September.
The increase in infections before this period was driven by factors such as the increase in a less common dengue virus serotype, as well as by warmer temperatures and more rain, which have caused the multiplication of the population of the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
Last week, the National Environment Agency announced that the Wolbachia Project, the country’s stealth weapon against dengue, would expand to Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Batok in an effort to suppress the population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in these neighborhoods.
Singapore has been studying this program since 2012. As part of the project, male mosquitoes carrying the Wolbachia bacteria are released to mate with female mosquitoes, causing them to lay non-hatching eggs.
Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Batok were chosen for the study due to their consistently high populations of the dengue-borne mosquito Aedes aegypti.
Mrs. Low is not the only MP who has been affected by dengue. Last September, Mr. Liang Eng Hwa (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) was also a victim of the disease and turned to Facebook to describe the painful experience of fighting the virus.
Dengue fever, which can cause very high fever, severe headache, and joint and muscle pain, killed 20 people last year. The disease claimed seven lives between January and March this year.
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