CDC says dengue cases likely to increase this year

Channel NewsAsia 10 Jan 08;

"Global warming could be giving Aedes mosquitoes better conditions for their reproduction and activities... therefore you see an increase in the number of dengue cases over a period of time."

SINGAPORE: The number of dengue cases in Singapore is likely to increase this year, but the Communicable Diseases Centre (CDC) said the figures will not reach epidemic levels.

A total of 8,829 people came down with dengue infections last year – more than double of 3,000 cases in 2006.

But these numbers are still less than the record number of some 14,000 cases in 2005.

The CDC said such figures suggest a cyclical pattern of a dengue epidemic in Singapore every five to six years. It also suggests that dengue cases will climb this year.

Associate Professor Leo Sin Yee, director of CDC, said: "Global warming could be giving Aedes mosquitoes better conditions for their reproduction and activities... therefore you see an increase in the number of dengue cases over a period of time."
- CNA/so