Fewer dengue cases in Singapore as control measures take effect

Channel NewsAsia 28 Nov 08;

SINGAPORE : The National Environment Agency (NEA) has said that the number of dengue cases has gone down.

There have been more than 5,900 dengue fever cases this year. Three people died from the virus between January and September.

According to the NEA, the number of dengue cases tends to peak every six or seven years. The number of cases at each peak tends to rise every cycle.

The last three cycles saw spikes in the number of dengue cases in 1992, 1998 and 2005, with cases seeing a peak in 2005.

However, 2008 has bucked the trend with 30 per cent fewer cases reported compared to last year.

The NEA said this is because control measures were taken early.

Tai Ji Choong, head of operations, Environmental Health Department, NEA, said: "We managed to achieve this through a few critical strategies. We did a pre-emptive surveillance of all the critical areas in the town councils with cover rooftops, water tanks, pump rooms and drains. At the same time, we also prioritise inspections of communities and residential estates which are very susceptible to dengue outbreaks. So by putting all these strategies together, we managed to buck the trend."

As at mid-November, NEA has detected some 8,000 mosquito breeding sites.

This is 50 per cent more than the number detected over the same period last year.

The NEA has urged homeowners to be more vigilant to help control the spread of dengue. - CNA/ms