The number of dengue cases in Singapore has crossed the 10,000 mark, latest figures from the National Environment Agency’s (NEA’s) dengue website showed.
As of July 31, a total of 10,137 cases have been reported. There were 11,286 cases in the whole of last year.
Last week, which registered 224 recorded cases of the mosquito-borne virus, was also the sixth straight week that the weekly figure had exceeded 200.
Another 34 cases had been reported from Sunday to 3pm on Monday.
Six people have died from dengue this year, two more than in the whole of 2015.
The most recent death was that of a 72-year-old woman who lived in Simei. She died on June 25.
With Singapore now in the traditional peak dengue season, NEA has repeatedly warned that it is anticipating an upward trend of cases in the coming months. It said in February that there could be more than 30,000 cases this year – higher than the historic 22,170 cases reported in 2013.
Since April, its Gravitrap data has shown a steady increase in the Aedes mosquito population in the community.
“Source eradication of mosquito breeding habitats and spraying of insecticides to control the adult mosquito population remain key to dengue prevention,” it stressed on its dengue website.
As of Monday, there were 51 active dengue clusters – up from 43 last week. Nine have been classified as high-risk, with a cluster in Telok Kurau remaining the highest risk with a total of 96 cases, including 13 in the last fortnight.
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