THIS must have been the worst birthday for actress Tan Kheng Hua.
The TV and theatre thespian had to spend her 45th birthday last Thursday in East Shore hospital due to dengue infection.
What made it a more frightening experience was the fact that this was the second time the actress of popular sitcom Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd had caught dengue.
The first time was in 2006. Speaking to my paper on the phone yesterday, her husband, Lim Yu Beng, 42, said that Tan first showed signs of fever when she was in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia.
She was admitted to a hospital there last Tuesday.
Two days later, Lim brought her back and admitted her to East Shore hospital last Thursday. Tan, who has been "out of the Intensive Care Unit for a couple of days", will be discharged as early as today.
Lim added that Tan's condition is improving and her "platelet count is moving up".
She has also been getting many well-wishes and visits from family and friends. It is still unknown whether Tan contracted the disease overseas or locally.
Ironically, she used to front the anti-dengue campaigns for the National Environment Agency (NEA) in 2005.
The actress and producer was best known for her role as the snobbish Margaret in the sitcom Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd.
Tan is the second known home-grown celebrity to be struck by dengue within a span of two weeks.
Class 95FM morning show host Glenn Ong is the other recent victim.
The 37-year-old, who has been absent from work since Jan 4, spent three days in East Shore hospital the week before. He was discharged last week and is recovering at home.
When contacted yesterday, the chirpy DJ said he was feeling "much better" and that he will return to work next Monday.
Over the past three weeks, more than 200 cases have been reported by the NEA.
The number of dengue cases for the second week of this month (Jan 6 to Jan 12) is 120, twice that of the 61 cases in 2007 around the same period.
In addition, 91 cases were reported for the week starting Jan 13 to Jan 18.
If you have any cases to report, please call NEA's hotline at 1800-333-7777.
