The Aedes aegypti, the main mosquito species that transmits dengue in Singapore. (Getty Images file photo)

SINGAPORE — Five people have died of dengue this year as of 17 June, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) on Thursday (20 June).

The fifth victim was an 84-year-old female who died on 14 June, MOH and NEA said in a joint statement. The patient’s residence at Lorong 6 Geylang is within an active dengue cluster.

As of 17 June, 108 dengue cases have been reported in the cluster at Geylang Road. Since the notification of this cluster on 26 April, NEA has detected and destroyed 64 mosquito breeding habitats.

Between January and March this year, about 60 per cent of the breeding habitats detected across Singapore have been found in residential premises and the number of such breeding cases remains high.

Although most patients recover from dengue infection, a small number may develop complications that can lead to death, especially in the case of older patients and those with concurrent medical conditions.

Dengue deaths in Singapore

As of 15 June, there have been 5,184 reported dengue cases, representing a fourfold increase over the same period in 2018, when there were 1,242 cases.

The number of weekly reported dengue cases has also more than quadrupled in the past three months.

In their statement, MOH and NEA noted, “We are now at the start of the warmer months of June to October, and can expect the number of cases to rise further.”

While certain geographical clusters such as at Woodlands, Geylang, Jalan Lembah Thomson and Chai Chee accounted for the bulk of the increase in the number of dengue cases, there has been a general uptrend across Singapore.

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

From January to March, NEA conducted about 224,000 inspections and uncovered about 2,900 instances of mosquito breeding habitats.

The latest updates on the dengue situation can be found on the NEA’s website, www.nea.gov.sg, Stop Dengue Now Facebook page, or the myENV app.

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