Singapore reported one more case of the mosquito-borne chikungunya fever, bringing the total number of the tropical disease to 13, local media reported Wednesday.
Local television Channel News Asia quoted the National Environment Agency and the Health Ministry as saying that the latest probable case was a Singaporean female who was admitted to hospital for suspected dengue fever on Jan. 16, and later was found to have chikungunya fever.
Since the first local-transmitted case was detected on Jan. 14,the government agencies have screened 2,626 people for the disease, and more than 4,800 inspections have been conducted, according to the report.
Like the dengue virus, the chikungunya virus is spread by the Aedes mosquito. The symptoms include fever, joint pains, chills and nausea.
Since there is currently no vaccine for the chikungunya fever, destroying mosquito breeding sites is an efficient way to prevent transmission.
(Xinhua News Agency February 7, 2008)
