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SINGAPORE: Dengue in Singapore has reached epidemic levels, with 401 cases reported last week – up more than a third from the week before.
This means that for the first time this year, numbers have crossed the epidemic threshold of 378 cases.
In a joint statement, the National Environment Agency and the Health Ministry blamed the spike on the recent spells of intermittent rain coupled with warm weather.
This has given the Aedes mosquito ample opportunities to breed in minute pools of stagnant water all over the island.
A change in the predominant strain of virus from Den-1 to Den-2 has also led to more cases.
A total of 2,868 cases have been reported in the first 24 weeks of this year, more than double the 1,392 cases in the same period last year.
The NEA has stepped up its checks, especially on homes, and 171,022 inspections were carried out in May.
In the first 23 weeks of the year, 2,354 breeding habitats were discovered in homes, which was 87 percent more than the same period last year.
More than half of the 500 environmental health officers are tackling dengue transmission in the current 77 clusters.
A dengue cluster is formed when two or more dengue cases occur within 14 days and the homes of the dengue victims are within the distance of 150 metres.
A cluster will only be closed when no new case is reported after 14 days of the last dengue case.
The location of clusters with ten or more cases can be found on the NEA website.
Residents living in these areas are advised to take extra precautions such as spraying aerosol in dark corners of their homes, behind the sofas and under the beds early in the morning.
The largest clusters are in Kim Keat Road/Kim Keat Close and West Coast Drive/West Coast Walk, which have 23 cases each.
Doctors said dengue patients usually suffer a lot of discomfort, but many do not need to be hospitalised.
Associate Professor Leo Yee Sin, Head, Communicable Disease Centre, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, said: "The disease has a very low mortality rate most of the time. In other words, it causes very few death cases. There is still opportunity for us to treat many of the cases adequately in the outpatient setting and to bring the more severe cases to the hospital for management."
- CNA/so
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