SINGAPORE: LOCAL CHIKUNGUNYA CASES ON THE RISE

UNCLAS SINGAPORE 000036 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO ECON SN SUBJECT: SINGAPORE: LOCAL CHIKUNGUNYA CASES ON THE RISE REF: 08 SINGAPORE 925 ¶1. (SBU) The Ministry of Health (MOH) has recorded 689 cases of chikungunya in Singapore as of January 7, 2009, and 513 of those cases were contracted locally, TAN Boon Hian, MOH Public Health Officer in the Surveillance and Response Branch of the Disease Control Unit, told Econoff January 13. This is a sharp increase in local chikungunya infections since MOH identified the first local cases in January 2008. MOH designated chikungunya as a "notifiable" disease on December 19, requiring healthcare professionals to report cases to MOH within 24 hours. MOH instituted the measure to better monitor the spread of the disease and determine whether it has become endemic. ¶2. (SBU) Chikungunya, a mosquito-borne disease that presents symptoms similar to dengue fever, first appeared in Singapore in ¶2006. However, all of those cases were thought to have been contracted abroad until a cluster of 13 local cases was identified in January last year. In the last six months in particular there has been sustained indigenous transmission of chikungunya. Still, Tan said it will take several more years of studying the disease to determine whether it has actually become endemic to Singapore. Other countries have endured chikungunya outbreaks only to have the disease disappear for several years, so MOH is watching to see whether the same pattern will hold for Singapore, Tan stated. There have been no chikungunya deaths in Singapore to date. ¶3. (SBU) The National Environment Agency (NEA) has been actively working to control the spread of the disease by destroying mosquito breeding areas. Tan said that in the past NEA's focus has been on eradicating the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries dengue fever, but recent data indicate that it is actually the Aedes albopictus mosquito that carries chikungunya. NEA has noted that the Aedes albopictus typically breeds in heavily vegetated areas, making it more difficult to find and destroy breeding areas. The GOS has issued statements to raise public awareness of the disease, its symptoms, and how to avoid infection (e.g., by avoiding certain areas and wearing long sleeves). The Regional Emerging Diseases Intervention (REDI) Center is planning an international meeting on chikungunya for healthcare professionals in March or April. HERBOLD