NEA Steps up Anti-Dengue Efforts

NTU now borders the most dengue-infested area in Singapore, with a 112 reported cases from three nearby clusters.

By Mark Soh
Infographic: Warren Tan

Efforts to reduce the spread of dengue fever around NTU have not let up.

The Westwood and Jurong West Street 74 neighbourhoods have a total of 112 reported dengue cases so far — making it the most dengue infested area in Singapore. Westwood, a private housing estate, is the worst hit, with more than 100 reported cases. While in St 74, eight cases were reported.

These two areas are just outside NTU’s Jalan Bahar entrance.

SBS bus service 199, which transports students from Boon Lay interchange to NTU daily, travels through Westwood along Jalan Bahar Road.

Meanwhile, there were two reported cases in Jurong West St 61. The area is close to Pioneer MRT, on the border of ‘Ah Lian Economical Bee Hoon’, a popular NTU students.

There is some cold comfort though — the National Environment Agency (NEA) reported no new dengue cases over the past three weeks.

Still, efforts to educate these residents on preventing dengue in their homes have not stopped. Even though NTU is not listed as a cluster, the Office of Housing and Auxiliary Services said that they were in full compliance of NEA’s anti-dengue regulations in construction sites around the school.

Currently, checks on these sites are done twice a week by NEA officers who ensure all puddles of stagnant water are cleared. This is to remove breeding sites for the Aedes mosquitoes, which carries the dengue virus. Mr Paul Chain, Chief Executive Officer of NTU’s Office of Development and Facilities Management added: “Fogging or fumigating is now done by the town council in and around the construction sites on a daily basis.”

Even as the school raises its guard against dengue, some do not see the need to take precautionary measures.
Chiew Zi Jie, 21, a first-year student from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, said he didn’t read too much into the problem. “As a young person, the chances of a full recovery are very high, so I’m not too concerned,” he said. Timothy Ang, 21, a first-year student from the Nanyang Business School, remained unaffected even after knowing that Jurong West is the top dengue hotspot. He said: “What are the chances of me catching dengue? Almost negligible.”