Southeast Asia battles dengue fever surge, climate fears
Pastor Dale Morgan
Sunday June 10, 1:29 PM Reuters
*Southeast Asia battles dengue fever surge, climate fears*
By Adhityani Arga and Ed Davies
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Southeast Asian nations are battling a surge in
dengue cases, amid signs that climate change could make 2007 the worst
year on record for a disease that often gets less attention than some
higher-profile health risks.
The spread of dengue, which is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito
and is endemic in much of the region, has also accelerated in recent
years due to increasing urbanisation and travel or migration within the
region, experts say.
Efforts to develop a vaccine are proving difficult because dengue can be
caused by four viruses. So the only real method to fight the disease at
present is to eliminate likely breeding spots for mosquitos from
discarded tyres to plant pots.
"The threat of dengue is increasing because of global warming, mosquitos
are becoming more active year by year and their geographical reach is
expanding both north and south of the Equator," said Lo Wing-lok, an
expert in infectious diseases.
"Even Singapore, which is so affluent and modern, can't exercise
adequate control," Hong Kong-based Lo added.
Dengue cases in Hong Kong usually involve people returning from hotter
parts of Asia, but Lo warned that warmer temperatures meant the disease
could ultimately become endemic in southern China.
Dengue sufferers often describe the onset of high fever, nausea and
intense joint pain. There is no real treatment, apart from rest and
rehydration, and in severe cases it can be fatal.
In Indonesia, where concerns over bird flu more frequently grab
headlines, dengue saw a dramatic peak earlier this year after much of
the Jakarta area was flooded.
"It's not so much the rise in temperature that affects dengue, rather
the rising rainfall has lengthened the lifespan of the epidemic each
season," said Wiku Adisasmito, a dengue expert at the University of
Indonesia.
The Asian Development Bank developed a model suggesting that dengue
might rise three-fold in Indonesia due to climate change.
By last month there had been 68,636 cases and 748 deaths so far this
year, according to Health Ministry data.
Although cases are slowing at the end of the wet season, experts warn
that 2006's record 106,425 cases could easily be overtaken. The record
number of deaths was 1,298 in 2005.
ANTI-DENGUE CAMPAIGNS
The picture looks similar in neighbouring countries.
Thailand had more than 11,000 cases of dengue fever and 14 deaths by
this month, up 18 percent from the same period of 2006.
In May, the worst month, 3,649 people were found with dengue.
Most patients were between 10-24 years old, Deputy Public Health
Minister Morakot Kornkasem said in a statement.
The number of dengue cases in Singapore last month was nearly three
times that in the same period a year ago, according to the government,
which says warmer weather was partly to blame.
The surge in cases has prompted the government to step up its
anti-dengue campaign, urging Singaporeans to clear roofs and gutters,
and throw out stale water in containers.
Between May 20 and 26, there were 259 dengue cases according to the
Straits Times newspaper, the highest weekly figure this year, but below
the weekly record of 714 cases in September 2005.
In Malaysia, 48 people died from dengue during the first five months of
the year, health officials said, up roughly 71 percent from 2006. By May
26, 20,658 people had caught the disease, a surge of 55 percent over the
corresponding 2006 figure.
"We are concerned over the increase and we need everyone to cooperate
with the authorities to fight the menace," Health Ministry official
Hasan Abdul Rahman told the New Straits Times recently.
Prevailing weather patterns of hot days punctuated by a day of rain have
worsened the problem.
"There is no medicine to cure dengue fever, so the only treatment is to
have a lot of electrolytes," said Noranita Badrun, a Kuala Lumpur
resident whose daughter, Nurin Syakilah, spent a week in hospital in
April battling the disease.
If not diagnosed early, dengue can kill, but Nurin, who received 18
bottles of intravenous fluids during her hospital stay, recovered soon
and is back at school, where two other students also had the disease,
Noranita said.
(Additional reporting by Tan Ee lyn in Hong Kong, Clarence Fernandez in
Kuala Lumper, Gui Qing Koh in Singapore and Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat
in Bangkok)