A recent outbreak of chickenpox among foreign workers in Singapore was not unexpected. Since 1990, Singapore has reported some of the highest reported rates of varicella in the region. In the attached graph I’ve compared recent reporting statistics with those of neighboring countries. Rates for the United States are included for comparison.

Update: Appeared in ProMED

Recent outbreaks highlight the fact that Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFM) is the second most commonly reported viral disease in Singapore. In fact, since 2001 rates of HFM have approached those of varicella. See graph.

The following data regarding Enteroviral infection in Singapore are extracted from GIDEON [primary reference available on request]

Enteroviruses are responsible for 0.2% of lower respiratory infection in the age group 0 to 20 years (1990 to 1994).

During 1996 to 1997, 44% of school children ages 5 to 12, and 50% of their mothers were found to be seropositive toward Enterovirus 71.
- Enterovirus 71 accounted for 71% of enteroviral isolates in 2000; 44.3% in 2001; 3.5% in 2002.

Epidemics of hemorrhagic conjunctivitis due to (more…)