WHAT is dengue fever?
It is an illness transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, which can be
identified by the white markings on its body.
Is the Aedes mosquito common here?
It is one of the more common types of mosquitoes here. Up to 95 per
cent of mosquitoes in HDB estates can be the Aedes species.
What is this new strain dengue-3? How is it different or
worse than getting the normal dengue virus?
There are four types of the virus, Den-1 to Den-4.
Den-3 is uncommon here, but is no more serious than the other
types. Singaporeans are more vulnerable to Den-3 because they may
have little or no immunity against the infection, causing quicker
dengue transmission.
Is dengue fever infectious?
An infected person cannot pass the virus to other people directly,
but mosquitoes can bite an infected person and spread the
virus.
What happens when you get dengue fever? How long will be
you sick for?
Dengue fever usually starts suddenly with a high fever, rash,
severe headache, pain behind the eyes and muscle and joint pain.
Nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite are also common. The illness
can last up to 10 days but complete recovery takes up to a
month.
Sources: NEA, World Health Organisation, Directors of Health
Promotion and Education