wild places | wild happenings | wild news
make a difference for our wild places

home | links | search the site
  all articles latest | past | articles by topics | search wildnews
wild news on wildsingapore
 

Straits Times 1 May 07
Man, 42, likely first dengue victim this year

Dengue fever has been on the rise here recently, and NEA has launched aggressive 'search and destroy' missions to eradicate mosquito breeding sites
By Michelle Neo & Tania Tan

DENGUE fever, which has been on the rise since last month, may have claimed its first victim this year. Mr Andy Ng Soong Boo, 42, died on Saturday morning after contracting the disease some time over the past three weeks.

Though the official cause of death was hepatitis B, doctors believe the medical complications that triggered his death were sparked by the dengue virus. Mr Ng, a manager in an oil company, leaves behind his wife Doris and two children, aged 11 and nine.

Mr Ng, described by his wife as a health-conscious man, started to experience symptoms consistent with a common cold, like a cough and sore throat, about three weeks ago. He consulted his family doctor, who prescribed antibiotics and other medicine to treat the symptoms.

A week later, Mr Ng returned to his doctor, this time complaining of jaundiced skin and eyes. He also had symptoms of dengue such as intense headaches, rashes and a mild fever. It was then that he was admitted to Mount Alvernia Hospital, where he was treated for symptoms indicative of liver failure.

The dengue virus appeared to have triggered off serious complications. Mr Ng was a carrier of hepatitis B. However, he did not experience any serious problems with his health before contracting dengue, his wife said.

About a week after he was admitted to Mount Alvernia, he was transferred to Singapore General Hospital for a liver transplant. Mr Ng remained optimistic to the end, said his wife. He even told a medical social worker he had a 98 per cent chance of survival. A day later, he died suddenly, before the transplant operation could go ahead.

The final verdict given on the cause of death was hepatitis B. 'His death was very sudden, we had no clue. I'm still hoping he will come back,' said Mrs Ng, an accounts executive.

Before Mr Ng's death, no other fatalities had been reported from dengue infections here this year.

According to Professor Vincent Chow of the National University of Singapore's department of microbiology, underlying diseases can sometimes cause complications in dengue cases. Healthy individuals do not usually experience complications like these, he said.

In 2005, 25 fatalities were reported during the dengue epidemic year. Many had other illnesses such as diabetes, and heart and liver ailments. There were no deaths reported from dengue last year.

This year, 127 cases were reported during the second week of last month, the highest weekly total so far this year.

In the past month, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has carried out aggressive 'search and destroy' missions, or Intensive Source Reduction Exercises (ISREs), to eradicate mosquito breeding sites. mneo@sph.com.sg taniat@sph.com.sg
links
Related articles on Dengue fever
about the site | email ria
  News articles are reproduced for non-profit educational purposes.
 

website©ria tan 2003 www.wildsingapore.com