LIMITED PUBLIC HEALTH RISK
Despite the rise, experts said the situation does not pose a major public health risk.
The Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said the risk of Japanese encephalitis virus and West Nile virus – both transmitted by Culex mosquitoes – is currently low in Singapore. Culex mosquitoes do not spread dengue.
CDA’s Group Director of Communicable Diseases Programmes, Associate Professor Lim Poh Lian, said no cases of West Nile virus have been reported in Singapore, while the last local case of Japanese encephalitis was in 2008 and the last imported case in 2015.
“For these diseases to take root in Singapore, there needs to be sustained presence of these viruses in Culex mosquitoes and animal reservoir hosts such as birds and pigs, as well as human exposure to infected vectors,” Assoc Prof Lim said.
Duke-NUS Medical School Emeritus Professor Duane Gubler said Culex mosquitoes are primarily a nuisance rather than a disease-transmitting pest, and noted that Japanese encephalitis is a rural disease rarely found in urban areas.
