Channel NewsAsia 29 Jul 19;
SINGAPORE: Four people have died from dengue in recent weeks, bringing the total number of dengue deaths this year to nine, the Ministry of Health and the National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a joint statement on Monday (Jul 29).
The four men died between Jun 30 and Jul 16, the authorities said.
The first, a 70-year-old man, who died on Jun 30, lived within a previously active dengue cluster at Hougang Avenue 5. The cluster was closed on Jul 12, with four dengue cases reported.
Three others died on Jul 16, the statement added.
A 77-year-old man who died lived at Eunos Crescent, which is within an active dengue cluster. As of Jul 20, six dengue cases were reported in the cluster.
"Since the notification of his cluster on Jun 28, 2019, NEA has detected and destroyed eight mosquito breeding habitats, all of which were found in residential premises," the authorities said.
They also confirmed that a 65-year-old victim lived at Bedok Reservoir Road, which is also within an active cluster. As of Jul 20, six dengue cases were reported in the area.
NEA detected 11 mosquito breeding habitats in the cluster, of which five were found in residential premises, with the rest in common areas.
The fourth was a 46-year-old man, who was last documented to be living at Woodlands Drive 50.
The number of dengue-related deaths this year is the second-highest since 2012. The highest was in 2016, when 12 people died.
Five people died from dengue earlier this year. Last month, an 84-year-old woman, who lived at Lorong 6 Geylang, died from dengue. A 63-year-old man died of the disease in May.
In March, dengue claimed the life of a 71-year-old woman who lived in Ang Mo Kio, while two elderly men died in February.
As of Jul 20, there have been 8,020 reported dengue cases in Singapore this year, which NEA said is about five times more than in the same period last year.
Earlier this month, Singapore saw the highest recorded number of weekly cases since 2016, with 666 cases.
The number of weekly cases have since dipped slightly, with 649 cases reported in the week ending Jul 20.
"We are in the peak dengue season in Singapore, which usually stretches from June to October, and the region around us is similarly seeing an upsurge of dengue cases this year," said NEA on its website.
Of the 175 dengue clusters identified in Singapore as of Jul 26, 50 have been identified as high-risk areas by NEA.
These include areas in Geylang Road and Chai Chee Avenue, both of which had at least 140 cases each since the start of the clusters.
Source: CNA/ga(hm)
