April 18, 2017

On April 30 2013, the National Environmental Agency launched the “Do the Mozzie Wipeout Campaign” encouraging the community to clear stagnant water in their homes by practicing the 5-Step Mozzie Wipeout. The aim of the campaign was to slow the spread of mosquito-borne dengue epidemic. With the Zika outbreak last year, this annual campaign is even more important.

In their 2008 book chapter “From Colony to Global City: Public Health Strategies and the Control of Disease in Singapore”, Prof Brenda Yeoh (Dept of Geography), A/P Phua Kai Hong (LKYSPP) and Kelly Fu (former PhD student at University of London) provide a historical overview on public health strategies adopted since the colonial period. A noteworthy point is how infectious diseases would make a return in the new millennium. Since independence, Singapore has made substantial improvements in healthcare delivery and infectious diseases were no longer considered serious public health issues. However, the SARS outbreak in 2003 shattered that confidence. Since then, public health control measures were re-evaluated and there was a renewed focus to tame these new types of infectious diseases introduced by globalization. The dengue and Zika outbreak warrants the authors’ concern about the threat posed by infectious diseases.

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Last but not least, please remember to practice the 5-Step Mozzie Wipeout. For more information, please click here.