Singapore MOH to tighten rules on MCs after feedback on doctors issuing them excessively or improperly
Parts of Central and South America are reporting record numbers of the disease, with Brazil seeing more than one million dengue cases in the first two months of 2024. “When the temperature rises 1 or 2 deg C, the mosquito can live a bit longer and bite more people, thus spreading the virus more widely and effectively,” he said.
“Most of the modelling studies that predict large increases in numbers of cases are flawed because they look mainly at temperature changes and ignore the complexity of other factors that influence transmission. Plausibility is not proof of causality,” he said. He suggested that mosquito-breeding regulations could be enhanced and dengue hot spots could be more closely monitored.
He added that while another vaccine, Qdenga – which is currently approved in countries such as Brazil and Indonesia – does not have that problem, its efficacy stands at 61 per cent, which he described as being “a bit lower” than needed to eradicate dengue.