Man starts blog to track mosquito sites He e-mails NEA with photos of any potential breeding ground he spots CONCERNED by the rise in the number of dengue cases here, a man has begun a weblog posting pictures of clogged drains in an effort to tell the authorities where to take action. Mr Jeffrey Ho, 51, a director of a financial services company, started denguealert.blogspot.com about three weeks ago. He said: 'I don't know if enough is being done. The National Environment Agency has a responsibility, but so do all of us - for our own homes and outside. The NEA can't be expected to be everywhere all the time.' Fighting the mosquito menace has been almost an obsession for the father of two since his Newton condominium was plagued by the insects for a few months about two years ago. One night during that period, his eight-year-old daughter ended up with more than 10 bites on her arms and legs. Since then, Mr Ho has called NEA officials regularly to report problematic sites. He was inspired to set up his blog after reading about the success of similar efforts in raising awareness on other issues. Now, whenever he sees a drain choked with litter or leaves, he whips out his mobile phone, snaps a picture of it and makes a note of its location. He then updates his blog and sends an e-mail with the picture and location of the drain to the NEA. So far, officials have been prompt in replying to his feedback, clearing the drains and reporting investigation results, which he then posts on his blog. Yesterday, the NEA said it welcomed proactive efforts by the public to fight dengue and urged people to contact it directly to report not just drains, but any suspected mosquito breeding ground. Of the 2,800 calls it receives every week, about 430 concern mosquito problems. The NEA cautioned against placing too much emphasis on drains rather than homes. Its investigations show that 75 per cent of mosquitoes found breeding in drains belong to the Culex species, while just 25 per cent are the dengue-carrying Aedes variety. Of areas found breeding Aedes mosquitoes, drains make up just 6 per cent. By comparison, homes make up 55 per cent of Aedes breeding sites, with most of the mosquitoes found breeding indoors in bamboo pole holders, flowerpots and pails. Most of the remaining breeding areas are in other HDB common properties maintained by town councils, such as rooftops and bin centres. The NEA is especially concerned with home breeding, said the head of operations of its environmental health department Dalson Chung, because the more dangerous sub-species of the Aedes mosquito is usually bred indoors. This sub-species has more potential to spread infection, as it bites multiple times during a feeding session, while the outdoor-bred sub-species usually bites just once. Still, Mr Ho said: 'Even Culex mosquitoes can be a nuisance. If my blog makes lives better for people, then it's good enough.'
NEA site checks up 10 per cent THE National Environment Agency has increased its mosquito breeding ground checks by 10 per cent this year, and hired 160 pest control workers to help its own force of 140 officers further intensify such checks. A total of 6,774 cases of dengue fever were reported in the first seven months of this year, more than double the 3,219 cases in the same period last year. The numbers continue to climb, due to hotter weather and a switch last year in the dominant strain of dengue virus. There are four main strains of dengue virus, all of which will become dominant at some point in time. Patients infected by one strain develop an immunity to it after they recover, but are still vulnerable to the other strains. Every one to three years, for unknown reasons, another strain becomes dominant, and many succumb to it. The switch in dominant strain led to an unusually large number of cases in the usually quiet months of January and February, when 2,207 dengue fever cases were reported, compared to 624 last year. | 
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