Weekly dengue cases fallen by 70 per cent since peak in May: NEA
SINGAPORE — Weekly dengue cases have declined by about 70 per cent from its peak in May this year, with 427 reported between 3 and 9 October, 46 cases fewer from the week before.
As of last Friday (7 October), there are 142 dengue clusters reported, six clusters fewer than the 148 clusters reported in the previous week.
Overall, 95 per cent of the dengue clusters reported since the start of this year have been closed, even as some clusters continue to have relatively fast rates of transmission, such as in Clementi West Street 2, Jurong East Street 21, Jurong West Avenue 5 and Rivervale Crescent.
Baey Yam Keng, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment, on Monday thanked the public and community partners for their efforts in managing the outbreak.
He was attending a Project Wolbachia session at Geylang, where male mosquitoes infected with the Wolbachia bacteria were released to control the population of the dengue-spreading Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
Preventive inspections to remove breeding habitats
Singapore experienced early signs of a dengue outbreak in February, with weekly dengue cases rising above 200. In response, NEA has maintained a high tempo of preventive inspections to remove mosquito breeding habitats, and further reduce the risk of dengue transmission.
The Inter-Agency Dengue Task Force conducted about 200,000 inspections, removing approximately 51,000 potential breeding habitats. This is in addition to the 409,000 inspections conducted by NEA islandwide over the same period.
NEA had also brought forward the launch of the National Dengue Prevention Campaign to remind residents and stakeholders to take proactive mosquito prevention measures, to minimise the risk of dengue infection and dengue clusters forming.
To date, over 600 of its SG Clean Ambassadors have been mobilised to educate residents on ways to protect against dengue in close to 170 locations across Singapore.
Continue vigilance even after dengue peak season
Even as Singapore is moving beyond the traditional dengue peak season from June to October, NEA has advised on continued vigilance as weekly dengue cases and the Aedes aegypti mosquito population remain high.
Dengue transmission are still seen in many areas, including large dengue clusters at Boon Lay Avenue, Aroozoo Avenue/Hougang Avenue 1, Jelapang Road, Bishan Street 11 and Marine Crescent.
NEA urges everyone to maintain good housekeeping and ensure that essential vector control measures are undertaken at all premises, to bring down dengue case numbers further.
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