SPREAD OF CHIKUNGUNYA DISEASE

SPREAD OF CHIKUNGUNYA DISEASE: 3.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources in light of the spread of the chikungunya disease for the first time in Singapore, what efforts have been made by the authorities to work with the businesses in the affected area to curb the spread of the disease.

The Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim): Mr Speaker, Sir, the chikungunya disease is transmitted by the bite of infective Aedes mosquitoes. The key to stopping the disease transmission is therefore to deprive the mosquitoes of a place to breed. To this end, the NEA has, since the notification of the first local case, carried out more than 4,800 inspections in the affected area to remove all possible mosquito breeding habitats. These include discarded receptacles, plastic pails and poorly-maintained roof gutters. NEA has also been working with PUB, URA, LTA and SLA to improve the overall sanitation and housekeeping of premises in the affected area, so that they do not become conducive to mosquito breeding.

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We recognise that the business operators in the affected area have an equally important role to play in preventing the spread of the disease. NEA has therefore partnered the Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association (LISHA) to educate the operators and premises owners on the importance of good housekeeping and regular checking for potential mosquito breeding habitats. As roof gutters are known to be a potentially productive breeding habitat, premises owners have also been asked to remove the gutters if they cannot be properly maintained.

Apart from the business operators, NEA has also been advising people visiting and working in the affected area on disease prevention tips through pamphlets that are printed in various languages, including Bengali and Sinhala.

It is through denying the mosquitoes a place to breed that we can prevent mosquito-borne diseases, such as chikungunya fever, from taking their root here.

We were able to break the transmission of the disease because of the close coordination among the agencies and the community. Although the chikungunya outbreak is over, we should all remain vigilant to prevent any recurrence, as we are still susceptible to the importation of the disease.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo (West Coast): Sir, I would like to ask the Minister how many cases were hospitalised and at what duration were they being discharged. Although it has been reported that it is under control, are there any indications of any new outbreaks?

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, as reported, there were 13 cases altogether for this recent outbreak. To the best of

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our knowledge, all of them have recovered. Not all of them required hospitalisation. At the moment, our efforts are to ensure that the area remains free of any infection and therefore NEA has set up an Inter-Agency Chikungunya Fever Taskforce that is implementing various measures to improve the environmental conditions in Little India.

Sir, some of the things that we will be doing are to step up enforcement against unauthorised use of URA parking lots; enforcing against the usage of premises for unauthorised purposes; ensuring that the open spaces maintained by SLA are not used for unauthorised purposes and that these areas are cleaned daily; enforcing against employers who have housed their foreign workers in unauthorised premises; and finally, to intensify the cleaning and flushing of drains. We will continue to ensure that the affected area remains clean and the environmental conditions are maintained to the standards that we want.