People's Daily
17th Jan 2008
A new strain of viral disease called chikungunya, which is transmitted in the same way as dengue fever by Aedes mosquitoes, has been detected in Singapore, local media reported Thursday.
The first case was reported on Monday. The patient, a 27-year-old foreign national, had contracted it locally as he/she has not traveled out of the country for several months, local television Channel NewsAsia quoted Singapore's Ministry of Health as saying.
The report said all previous cases of chikungunya reported in Singapore were contracted overseas.
The government agencies have investigated the area the patient lives and have found five other persons with chikungunya fever, said the report.
Chikungunya fever, like dengue fever, is a mosquito-borne disease and the best way to prevent chikungunya fever is to take precautionary measures to prevent mosquito breeding.
The disease is characterized by sudden onset of fever, chills, headache, nausea, vomiting, joint pain with or without swelling, and low back pain.
Outbreaks have occurred in recent years in Africa, Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Indian Ocean islands.
Singapore reported 8,826 cases of dengue fever last year, and 20 of them lost their lives. The death toll is not much lower than in 2005, when 25 were killed in the worst dengue fever.
Source:Xinhua
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