8 COMMUNITY April-August 2017 The Spotlight
8 COMMUNITY April-August 2017 The Spotlight
Mozzie Wipe Out not to be Wiped Out
Taman Jurong Division residents believe tackling dengue is a community effort.
BY JOANNE MUK
Taman Jurong residents are vaguely aware of the five-step Mozzie Wipeout campaign even when the neighbourhood was previously home to a dengue cluster.
Dengue has been a long-standing problem in Singapore with the months of June to October receiving higher dengue transmission rates. According to the National Environment Agency( NEA), 1529 dengue cases has been reported across Singapore since Jan 1, 2017.
To counter this, Mr Roland Choo, Chairman of Taman Jurong Zone D Residential Committee, said that they will have more efforts to remind residents of possible“ mosquito breeding bed( s)” during the next few months, as Lakeside, a region of the Taman Jurong division, was labelled as a“ yellow zone” due to a recent dengue cluster. Mr Choo mentioned that the main cause of higher dengue rates in Lakeside was due to construction sites nearby.
However, he stated that Mozzie Wipeout has aided them in bringing“ unfortunate” dengue situations under control.
The Mozzie Wipeout campaign has been one that is commonly found across Singapore. It reminds Singaporeans on how to prevent the breeding of dengue with five simple steps.
Even though Mr Choo believes in the effectiveness of Mozzie Wipeout, the residents of Lakeside say that the campaign still needs an increase in awareness. Ms Lim Wei Jun, 19, said that the five-step campaign could be“ emphasised more” as she has not seen“ much about it”. On the other hand, some residents are satisfied with government efforts in tackling dengue, understanding that dengue“ cannot be [ entirely ] controlled,” said Eunice Ong, 22.
NEA has recently partnered with Yuan Ching Secondary School students and staff to go from door to door, making sure that residents are not contributors of Aedes mosquito breeding.
Besides checking every household for mosquito breeding, NEA also made it a point to remind residents on how to keep their homes dengue free. Despite varied views of Mozzie Wipeout and current government efforts to tackle dengue, residents came to a consensus that tackling dengue is a community effort. Ms Caitlyn Low, 19, a dengue survivor, said that everyone needs to“ play a part” and the negligence of one person can have“ consequences”. Ms Low was diagnosed with type two dengue in early 2016. She warned others about her“ horrible” experience such as suffering the common symptoms like headache, joint pain, nausea and rash.
Ms Low initially thought she was suffering from the common flu and only decided to visit her family clinic when her fever and joint pain worsened. She was referred to the National University Hospital( NUH) for blood tests which came back dengue positive.
“ I was so scared and weak and I thought I wouldn’ t get to leave the hospital for weeks,” said Ms Low who was warded at NUH for a week. At her worst point, she was unable to leave her bed and her fever continuously fluctuated, with a high of over forty degrees Celsius. Even after Ms Low was discharged, she only began regaining strength in the second week following her release.
As NEA has established, to keep one’ s home dengue free, one should constantly follow the steps of the Mozzie Wipeout campaign. The five-step campaign consists of changing water in vases and bowls, turning over all water storage containers, removing water from flower pots, clearing blockages and placing BTI insecticide in roof gutters and covering bamboo pole holders when not in use.
Singaporeans can also report any probable mosquito breeding sites to NEA via the feedback form on their website or contact the NEA hotline.
Pails still left upright in the Taman Jurong division, threatening the safety of residents due to stagnant water collection which can lead to mosquito breeding. Photo: Joanne Muk.
Graphic: Joanne Muk.
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