The War On Mosquitoes

How many have died from dengue fever in Singapore? The official position from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) states "This is the fifth local dengue death case this year."

The actual number depends on whether you want to make the minister in charge look good/bad, and the mainstream media does that very well. The tally goes like this:
1st victim, 20-year-old Singaporean Chinese male, lived in Hougang Ave 1, died 29 May 2013;
2nd victim, 60-year-old Singaporean Chinese male, lived in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, died 9 June 2013;
3rd victim, 86-year-old Singaporean Chinese male, lived in the Sembawang Road area, 25 June 2013;
4th victim, a 66-year-old Singaporean Chinese male, lived in the Tanglin Halt area, died 8 July 2013;
5th victim, 52-year-old Chinese male, lived in Corporation Walk, died on 13 August 2013.

The unvarnished truth is that there is a tie for 4th occurrence, an Indonesian male, who died on 25 June 2013. The victim contracted dengue fever overseas between 10 - 21 June 2013 and was subsequently sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for treatment on 23 June 2013. He was a foreigner who died in a local hospital, under competent medical care of doctors stationed locally. So 5 or 6 local dengue deaths, you choose the number to rank how well Vivan Balakrishnan is doing his job.

The number is not very helpful. More helpful is an article in a Smithsonian magazine, which spells out how blood type, metabolism, exercise, shirt color and beer consumption can determine whether the mosquitoes choose to land on you. Here are some of their key findings:

Blood type: Mosquitoes prefer people with Type O blood nearly twice as often as those with Type A. People with Type B blood fell somewhere in the middle;
Carbon Dioxide: People who simply exhale more of the gas over time — generally, larger people — attract more mosquitoes than others;
Exercise and Metabolism: Strenuous exercise which increases the buildup of lactic acid and heat in your body, makes you more attractive to the mosquitoes;
Skin Bacteria: Mosquitoes are especially prone to biting our ankles and feet because they naturally have more robust bacteria colonies;
Beer: Just a single 12-ounce bottle of beer can make you more attractive to mosquitoes;
Pregnancy: Pregnant women have been found to attract roughly twice as many mosquito bites as others, because they exhale about 21 percent more carbon dioxide and are on average about 1.26 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than others;
Clothing Color: Wearing colors that stand out (black, dark blue or red) may make you easier for the mosquitoes to find.

Now that you know better, make it tougher for the mozzies to home in on you - don't drink beer, hold on to your gases, stay cool, keep clean and avoid outstanding colours. Definitely more useful than the doctored information provided by MOH and NEA.