Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA) is going to use new media channels, such as Facebook and Twitter, to fight dengue fever. They plan to release dengue updates on the new media channels that will provide information on, for example, the latest dengue clusters or areas that have been earmarked as high-risk. According to the Jakarta Globe, the goal is to realize these plans within the next three months.
The information is currently available only on the dengue website of the NEA and through a NEA iPhone application, which was released in early July this year. With the use of Facebook and Twitter, the public will be enabled to post feedback and provide information, if Singaporeans notice an increase of mosquitoes in a certain area.
The NEA is also developing software that can identify the species of mosquito from a photograph. It could enable NEA personnel to identify larvae, pupae or mosquitoes of the Aedes species, which spreads the dengue viruses. They plan to integrate this software with the iPhone app to make it available for the public as well.
These new measures will complement existing strategies. Singapore already uses methods of close monitoring and applying preventive measures to control dengue outbreaks.
Jakarta Globe: Singapore to Combat Dengue With Facebook, Twitter…
