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Dengue fever epidemic in Singapore

Infection Control Monitor, July 13, 2007

Singapore and neighboring countries in Southeast Asian are in the midst of a new epidemic of dengue fever that is on course to claim more victims then the last epidemic in 2005, reported The New York Times.

 

The potentially deadly dengue virus is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, which appear to be winning the war against the disease abetted by the boom in international travel, global warming, and their own adaptability, the Times reported.

 

The virus, for which there is no vaccine or treatment, is spreading fast beyond the tropics where it was once confined, the newspaper said. Global warming is extending the Aedes mosquitoes' habitat so that dengue has now traveled north from Latin America to the southern United States. Air travel is also carrying infected people and mosquitoes to new areas.

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