About 900 households fined between January and May as NEA calls for 'collective effort' to tackle dengue surge

Channel NewsAsia 23 Jun 19;

SINGAPORE: About 900 households have been fined for mosquito breeding as of May this year, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) as it called for a "national collective effort" to tackle the high number of dengue cases in Singapore.

More than 372,000 inspections were carried out islandwide between January and May this year and about 6,500 instances of mosquito breeding habitats were uncovered, said NEA in a media statement on Sunday (Jun 23).

During the same period, the proportion of breeding detected in homes in cluster areas was 74 per cent, much higher than the national average of 60 per cent.

The highest proportion was 85 per cent at a cluster around Woodlands Avenue 6, Woodlands Circle, Woodlands Crescent, Woodlands Drive 60, Woodlands Drive 70 and Woodlands Drive 72.

NEA was notified to 199 cases in this cluster, and found instances of mosquito breeding in pails, bowls and plastic containers.

Singapore has seen a surge in dengue cases this year with a total of 5,184 cases so far as of Jun 15.

This is about four times the 1,242 dengue cases in the same period last year.

Earlier this month, an 84-year-old woman died from dengue in the fifth fatal case this year.

The number of cases of dengue haemorrhagic fever is also at a high of 41 cases, said NEA.

The number of active dengue clusters has also more than doubled in the past month to 112 (as of Jun 17).

The upward trend in the number of dengue cases comes following two years of low dengue case numbers, said the agency, adding that the upward trend can be seen across the island.

"While there are certain geographical clusters which accounted for the bulk of the increase in dengue cases, such as at Woodlands, Geylang, Jalan Lembah Thomson and Chai Chee, there has been a general uptrend in dengue cases across the island," it said. "The dengue transmission is therefore not localised, and everyone has to be alert to the threat."

There has also been an increase in the number of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, with NEA's Gravitrap surveillance system showing an increase in the Aedes aegypti mosquito population since March, said the agency.

There was a 56 per cent increase detected by the system in May compared to March, it said.

The "persistently high" Aedes aegypti mosquito population increases the risk of transmission of the dengue virus, said the agency, adding that urgent action is needed to eliminate potential mosquito breeding habitats in the community.


Source: CNA/nc

900 households fined as more mosquito breeding habitats found in homes
LOW YOUJIN Today Online 23 Jun 19;

SINGAPORE — Around 900 households have been fined at least S$200 for the breeding of mosquitoes as of May this year, as the authorities step up efforts to stem the spike in dengue cases.

In a media statement on Sunday (June 23), the National Environment Agency (NEA) said it conducted more than 372,000 inspections islandwide from January to May this year. During this period, the agency uncovered about 6,500 instances of mosquito breeding habitats.

The NEA said that the proportion of breeding detected in homes in cluster areas was 74 per cent, which it noted was more than the national average of 60 per cent.

The highest proportion of breeding found in homes in a cluster area was 85 per cent.

The NEA identified this as the Woodlands cluster which includes Woodlands Avenue 6, Circle, Crescent and Drives 60, 70 and 72.

Not only did this cluster have the highest number of dengue cases at 199 as of April 2, the NEA found nine instances of “profuse mosquito breeding” which saw some homes unintentionally breeding at least 50 mosquito larvae within uncovered containers.

NOT A ‘LOCALISED’ THREAT

Highlighting the seriousness of the situation, the NEA said that as of June 17, the number of active dengue clusters has more than doubled in the past month to 112.

While there are certain geographical clusters which “accounted for the bulk of the increase in dengue cases”, such as at Woodlands, Geylang, Jalan Lembah Thomson and Chai Chee, the NEA warns that there has been a general uptrend in dengue cases across the island.

“The dengue transmission is therefore not localised, and everyone has to be alert to the threat,” said the agency.

Residents living within these cluster areas are encouraged by the NEA to protect themselves by applying mosquito repellent regularly, and keeping their homes clean by getting rid of stagnant water.

To safeguard public health, NEA said it will not hesitate to take enforcement actions against anyone found to have created conditions favourable for the breeding of mosquitoes.

“As we are in the traditional peak dengue season, concerted community action is urgently needed to bring down the Aedes mosquito population, to prevent more people from being infected with the dengue virus,” said the NEA.

NEA’s statement comes as TODAY’s Big Read this week took a deep dive into Singapore’s dengue problem, looking at why it has refused to go away and what is to come in the relentless battle against the virus.

FOUR-FOLD INCREASE

As of June 15 this month, there have been a total of 5,184 reported dengue cases this year.

“This is about four times the 1,242 dengue cases we saw in the same period last year,” said the NEA.

Within that week alone, there were already 467 reported cases of dengue.

“Singapore has not seen such a high weekly number of cases since March 2016,” said the agency.

Similarly, the NEA also reported that the number of cases of dengue haemorrhagic fever is also at a high of 41 cases.

The upward trend in the number of dengue cases, said the NEA, comes after two years of low dengue case numbers.