Lowered herd immunity is, however, insufficient to account for
the resurgence of dengue in Singapore. Dengue is predominantly a
childhood disease in most parts of Southeast Asia, and more
women than men are infected as adults. This disease pattern fits
the behavior of A. aegypti . This species of mosquito is highly
domesticated, lives and breeds indoors, has a limited flight
range, and feeds almost exclusively on humans. Consequently,
persons who spend more time at home during the daytime, i.e.,
mothers and children, are more likely to be infected than those
who leave the home for work. In Singapore, however, the
incidence of DF/DHF is lower in children than in adults (14 ).
This finding could be due to a high proportion of subclinical
infection in children or a lack of infection in the domestic
environment. To investigate this observation, a serologic survey
of 1,068 children <15 years of age was conducted during an
18-month period in 1996 and 1997 (17 ). All children who were
born at or who visited outpatie