Hygiene Awareness and Educational Measures on Seasonal Epidemics: Case study of 2020 Dengue Fever Outbreak in Singapore

Since early 2008, dengue – a tropical infectious disease with vector Aedes mosquitoes – was thought to be fully controlled in Singapore. However, cases of dengue infection suddenly accumulated in 2020, as the result of several interweaving factors. This review emphasizes on a rarely-mentioned aspect in the 2020 dengue epidemic – social awareness. The impact of government propaganda is analyzed through the statistics of National Center for Infectious Disease (NCID) Dengue Articles during the Covid-19 pandemic (2017-2021). The trend is further analyzed with a statistical model established on Covid-19 propaganda to study the link on hygiene awareness, between Covid-19 and dengue. In addition, to further quantify the concept of “social awareness”, a Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) survey is established on dengue knowledge and awareness across 3 communities in Tampines, Singapore. The results are studied and compared with a similar 2022 cross-sectional study to identify areas of achievement and improvement. With this new aspect, the effectiveness of dengue education and social support can be extensively promoted in Singapore. For future success, Singaporean citizens should regain their knowledge and alertness of dengue infection. Besides more frequent family and school education, the application of interactive, updated means (i.e. online educational platforms) should also be encouraged. Additionally, education and social support should also focus on the elderly, as KAP survey suggest they score comparably less in hygiene AKP than younger generations.