Pek Kio gastric flu outbreak: Pest control operations to be stepped up
Pek Kio hawker centre is closed for cleaning and disinfection on Wednesday and Thursday. Photo: Wee Teck Hian
SINGAPORE — In the wake of residents’ concerns over possible links between a rat infestation problem in the Owen Road estate and the recent outbreak of stomach flu cases there, the Tanjong Pagar Town Council will increase pest control operations from fortnightly to weekly.
In response to TODAY’s queries, a spokesperson said that since it took over the management of the area in December last year, it had asked its pest control operator to “identify and treat potential rat burrows on a fortnightly basis”.
“Over the next few days, we will intensify treatment and moving forward we will conduct weekly treatments,” the spokesperson added. The hawker centre was formerly under Moulmein-Kallang Town Council until electoral boundaries were changed in the General Election last September.
Since last Monday (May 16), there have been more than 180 cases of stomach flu in the Owen Road area, with many of these individuals having visited Pek Kio hawker centre. While the authorities said the source of the outbreak has not been traced, Pek Kio hawker centre was told to shut for two days for cleaning and disinfection. It will re-open tomorrow.
Apart from complaints about rats scurrying around, residents also flagged concerns about the sewers in the area, saying there was a persistent stench emanating from the drains.
A PUB spokesperson told TODAY that its officers visited the areas on Wednesday morning (May 25) and “did not detect any issues with the sewerage network”.
Tanjong Pagar Member of Parliament Melvin Yong, who visited the hawker centre at around noon on Wednesday, stressed that the closure of the market for cleaning was a “precautionary” measure and that there was no indication that the market was linked directly to the cases.
“Many of the stallholders are elderly (people) who are concerned about how this might affect their livelihoods) ... They are working together with the town council and they take this process very seriously ... We hope that when the market re-opens on Friday, people continue to come back.”
Mr Yong said he visited the hawker centre regularly and did not receive feedback about rats from the stallholders. However, the town council did receive feedback about rat sightings from the same caller in March and April, and it followed up with pest-control treatment on both occasions.
Mr Yong added that he had asked the town council to be vigilant for any rat sighting in the neighbourhood, and to step up pest-control treatment when necessary.
Meanwhile, doctors interviewed said that for an unusually large stomach flu outbreak of the scale at Owen Road, the source would probably have to be accessible by many within a short period.
The proximity of hawker stalls is one such possible scenario, said Dr Kevin Chua, director of family clinic Drs Chua & Partners. “This could spread through water droplets or saliva through the sharing of drinks, or when people do not wash their hands (properly) ... There are many common (surfaces) that people could have touched ... That’s usually the most common cause where it’s viral in origin.”
Dr Clarence Yeo, from Killiney Family and Wellness Clinic, said another possible scenario was that food might have been contaminated through bacterial viruses, such as through the mixing of raw food with cooked food, or unclean hands of operators.
Dr Madeleine Chew from MW Medical, also pointed to other possible factors like food being contaminated by pests. Rat urine, for instance, could get on canned drinks or dried canned goods.
“For all 180 cases to be concentrated in one area to be associated with a (viral cause) is very unusual ... It might also be due to many patrons eating from the same store itself ... There must be a (focal point), rather than from one person spreading to another,” she said.
