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Channel NewsAsia - 1 hour 12 minutes ago
Chikungunya fever detected, believed to be locally transmitted
SINGAPORE: 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.
The Ministry of Health said the first case was reported on Monday.
Investigations revealed that the patient, a 27yearold foreign national residing on Clive Street, had contracted it locally as he/she has not travelled out of the country for several months.
All previous cases of chikungunya reported in Singapore were contracted overseas.
Following the report, the Health Ministry together with National Environment Agency (NEA)s Environmental Health Institute have begun to screen persons living or working in the Clive Street area.
So far, investigations have found five other persons with chikungunya fever.
They have been sent to the Communicable Disease Centre (CDC) at Tan Tock Seng Hospital for further medical assessment and two have been admitted for isolation.
The Health Ministry is continuing with its screening of residents and workers in the Clive Street area for chikungunya fever.
NEA is also conducting intensive mosquito control operations in the area and will extend it to cover the Little India enclave over the next few days.
Residents and premises owners have been asked to check their premises daily to remove any stagnant water that may breed mosquitoes.
The Health Ministry said Chikungunya fever, like dengue fever, is a mosquitoborne disease and the best way to prevent chikungunya fever is to take precautionary measures to prevent mosquito breeding.
Persons infected with chikungunya fever should stay indoors to reduce the risk of further transmission of the virus.
The disease is characterised by sudden onset of fever, chills, headache, nausea, vomiting, joint pain with or without swelling, and low back pain.
Some patients may develop a rash affecting their bodies and limbs.
Most symptoms last for three to ten days but joint pains may last for weeks to months.
Outbreaks have occurred in recent years in Africa, Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Indian Ocean islands.
The Health Ministry has requested residents or individuals who work in the affected area to provide relevant information to Health Ministry officers who are currently carrying out epidemiological investigations.
Those who have been in the Clive Street area recently and have developed a fever are advised to consult their doctors. CNA/ac
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according to wikipedia:
Symptoms
The symptoms of Chikungunya include fever which can reach 39°C, (102.2°F) a petechial or maculopapular rash usually involving the limbs and trunk, and arthralgia or arthritis affecting multiple joints which can be debilitating. The symptoms could also include headache, conjunctival injection, and slight photophobia. High fevers and joint pain are found in the current epidemic in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, India. The fever typically lasts for two days and then comes down abruptly. However, other symptoms, namely joint pain, intense headache, insomnia and an extreme degree of prostration last for a variable period; usually for about 5 to 7 days. Patients have complained of joint pains for much longer time periods depending on their age. Younger patients recover within 5 to 15 days; middle-agers recover in 1 to 2.5 months. Recovery is longer for the elderly. The severity of the disease as well as its duration is less in younger patients and pregnant women. No untoward effects of pregnancy are noticed following the infection.
Ocular inflammation from Chikungunya may present as iridocyclitis, and have retinal lesions as well.photophobia is the worst....imagine you can't even open your eyes cos' it hurts when you see light.
this virus is even more deadly than dengue.
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Reuters - 1 hour 12 minutes ago
Six infected by Chikungunya virus in Singapore
SINGAPORE, Jan 17 - Six people in Singapore have been infected by the mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus, the Ministry of Health said on Thursday.
"This is the first instance of local transmission of the disease. Previous cases were imported, where patients caught the virus overseas and brought it back to Singapore," a Ministry of Health spokeswoman told Reuters.
Two patients have been admitted to the isolation ward of the Communicable Disease Centre.
All six patients were living in close proximity to each other in the southeastern part of the city-state. "It's still a localised infection at the moment," she added.
The Ministry of Health has begun to screen people living or working in the same area.
Chikungunya fever, like dengue fever, is a mosquito-borne disease, characterised by sudden onset of fever, chills, headache, nausea, vomiting, joint pain, back pain, and sometimes a rash.
Most symptoms last for three to 10 days, but joint pains may last for weeks to months.
The Chikungunya virus was carried mostly by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. It caused an epidemic that began in Kenya in 2004 and spread to several Indian Ocean islands including the Comoros, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Madagascar, Mayotte and Reunion.
On tiny Reunion Island alone, more than a third of the population -- 266,000 people -- were infected, and 260 died.
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Channel NewsAsia - 1 hour 49 minutes ago
6 confirmed cases of chikungunya fever in Singapore
SINGAPORE: There are currently six confirmed cases of chikungunya fever four of the patients have already been discharged, while two are still in hospital.
38yearold G Vidwasekar, an Indian national from Tamil Nadu, had to be admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospitals Communicable Disease Centre on Wednesday.
Just a day earlier, he had joined the Indian Harvest Festival celebrations, known as Pongal.
As he was returning to his hostel in Clive Street the same living quarters as the first chikungunya victim he experienced symptoms of the fever.
He said: "I got off the bus, but couldnt walk. My joints started to ache, then I bought panadol, ate it, had some sleep and I felt better after that."
Tan Tock Seng Hospital is making sure that patients get a good rest. They are also given medication to reduce pain as there is currently no specific treatment for chikungunya fever.
The National Environment Agencys Environment Health Institute has taken blood tests of 11 people in the same living quarters as Mr Vidwasekar. CNA/so
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Originally posted by Nikar2:according to wikipedia:
photophobia is the worst....imagine you can't even open your eyes cos' it hurts when you see light.
this virus is even more deadly than dengue.No....the virus from I Am Legend is coming true!!!!!!!!!
Get out of Singapore if you dun wan be legend!!!!!
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Person1:Hey I got Chikungunya
Person2:Omg!
really? since when?
Person1:Just recently...
Person2:Where did you get it?
Person1:Erm... here in Singapore... I did'nt go overseas.
Person2:Omg!
Really?
That's so cool! Which shop? What's the price?
Person1:... ? Its a fcuking disease...
Person2:Oh sorry
... Sounded more like some Japanese digital game, like Tamgochi,..
Hajmete,.. Kororinpa,.. Konekone,.. Machi Kuru... ... Chikungunya
...Edited by xXBlack_RebelXx 18 Jan `08, 9:06PM
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