SARS and other illnesses

[akohler]

Someone just told me two days ago that the SARS problem was bad in Singapore. What is the general opinion on this one? Also, she said that the mosquitos were causing more and more problems with a sickness called the "dunge" (sp???) Is this really a bad problem? Is it safe to move there with a young 6 month old? Was my friend exagerrating the problem, or is dangerous to go outside because of the bugs? And also the SARS sickness? Not to sound like a crazy hypocondriac, I just have NO IDEA what to expect there, so I will believe anything!
thanks for your opinions
Anne

[Farah]

Hi Akohler,

Don't worry, there's no SARS in Singapore, at least not this year. Your friend was probably talking about SARS LAST year. It was bad then but Singapore was declared SARS free by WHO in May last year.

As for dengue, it's only affecting certain areas in Singapore , not all. Don't worry, there are many children in Singapore and your child will probably be none the worse.

Hope that helps!

[akohler]

So, when SARS hits, what do the people do in Singapore? In europe, we get the image of somewhat chaos. Is this a false image? Is it as easy to "catch" as they say on the news? As for dengue, what areas are worse or better so we know where to look for a house/apartment. thanks so much for your reply.

[jpatokal]

If you want to avoid dengue, I would suggest not moving to Pulau Tekong.

As for SARS, nobody knows what people will do when it hits, because, well, it hasn't. Even when the epidemic was at its worst Singapore was, if anything, more clean and orderly than usual because everybody stayed indoors and avoided restaurants, public transport, etc...

But the fact of the matter is, in Singapore as everywhere else you are far more likely to die in a car accident or heart attack than SARS, dengue fever, terrorism, lightning strike and ingrown toenails combined.