The Macau Health Bureau (SSM) is urging residents to be vigilant against dengue fever considering the city’s relatively heavy rainfall over recent weeks and the fact that the number of dengue fever infections is on the rise in neighbouring regions and countries.
As of yesterday, Macau had not recorded any cases of dengue fever this year.
An SSM statement on Tuesday noted that stagnant water is likely to accumulate in outdoor containers because of the city’s relatively heavy rainfall over recent weeks. In addition, the statement said, the current hot weather is conducive to the breeding of Aedes albopictus.
Consequently, the statement said, Macau is now in a high-risk season for the spread of dengue fever.
Moreover, the statement warned that due to it being the summer holiday period, more residents can be expected to travel to destinations outside Macau, because of which the city is expected to be more likely to be affected by the transmission of dengue fever.
The SSM statement noted that as of Monday, the Taiwan region had recorded 211 cases of dengue fever this year, of which at least 168 had been confirmed as locally transmitted cases. The cases in Taiwan primarily occurred in Tainan and Kaohsiung, the statement noted.
In addition, the statement said, a number of Southeast Asian countries have also been seriously affected by dengue fever this year as they have recorded a large year-on-year increase in the number of dengue fever cases so far this year.
According to the SSM statement, as of early this week 2,857 cases of dengue fever had been recorded in Singapore this year, 24,030 cases in Thailand, 36,997 cases in Malaysia, and 29,673 cases in Vietnam. The statement said that Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam had each recorded a year-on-year increase of over 100 percent in the number of dengue fever cases so far this year compared to the same period of last year.
Consequently, the statement said, the Health Bureau is closely monitoring the latest development of dengue fever infections in various countries and regions as well as possible infections in Macau.
The statement also underlined that the Health Bureau has been strengthening its measures to eradicate mosquitoes at locations with a high risk of mosquitoes breeding, such as idle plots of land.
Macau was hit by a serious outbreak of dengue fever in 2001 when between August and October in that year the Health Bureau confirmed 1,148 cases of dengue fever, including 29 patients who needed to be hospitalised.
Measures on the prevention of dengue fever and other information on the disease can be checked at: https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/healthtopics/content/24/19.html
This photo shows a Aedes albopictus, aka Asian tiger mosquito. – Photo courtesy of US CDC/Wikimedia Commons
