Dover Campus parent Christoph Theisinger had a bad experience with dengue fever last year – as did his Grade 8 daughter Ella. However, the experience also planted the seeds for a project that has now been championed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) and could see useful application in countries other than Singapore.

X-Dengue, launched in November 2011, is a free public service project provided by Smart Communities Pte Ltd in collaboration with the NEA to raise the general public’s awareness of dengue clusters, health risks and prevention. The website and iPhone app provides a free, personal SMS and email alert service about Dengue fever clusters across Singapore, by delivering personalized, real-time information to users, based on predefined locations – such as home, school, work, and recreational spaces. It also delivers real-time location-based information for when users are out and about.

One particularly exciting aspect of this service is its applicability to other location-based hazards and its ability to be implemented in other countries or communities. If you have an idea on how this could be realized elsewhere, please email your questions, feedback and suggestions to X-Dengue.