SINGAPORE: An 84-year-old woman died from dengue last week, marking the fifth such death in Singapore this year, according to a joint statement by the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (Jun 20).
The woman, who died last Friday, lived within an active dengue cluster at Lorong 6 Geylang.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAs of Monday, 108 dengue cases have been reported in the cluster at Geylang Road, said NEA and MOH.
Since it was notified of the cluster on Apr 26, NEA said it had detected and destroyed 64 mosquito breeding habitats.
Two-thirds of these were found in homes, while the rest were found at common areas and other types of premises.
The woman is the fifth person to die from dengue this year.
AdvertisementAdvertisementLast month, a 63-year-old man who lived at Hougang Avenue 1 died from the disease.
In March, a 71-year-old woman who lived in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 died from dengue.
Two people died from the disease in February. The first was a 74-year-old man who lived in Bedok Reservoir Road and the second a 77-year-old male resident at Hougang Avenue 3.
Singapore has seen a surge in dengue cases this year, with the number of weekly reported dengue cases more than quadrupling in the past three months.
Just last week, the number of reported dengue cases spiked to a three-year high, with 468 reported cases in the week ending Jun 15 - the highest weekly figure since March 2016.
[h=3]READ: Weekly dengue cases in Singapore spike to highest in more than 3 years[/h]As of Jun 15, there have been 5,184 dengue cases reported in total this year, more than the 3,285 cases reported in the whole of 2018 and 2,772 cases in 2017.
"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," said NEA and MOH.
"The dengue transmission is therefore not localised, and everyone has to be alert to the threat."
The two bodies added that as the year enters the warmer months of June to October, the number of dengue cases is expected to rise further.
MAJORITY OF BREEDING HABITATS FOUND IN HOMES
NEA and MOH also called for home owners and residents to step up their efforts, pointing out that the majority of mosquito breeding habitats have been found in residential premises.
"Between January and March this year, about 60 per cent of the breeding habitats detected across the island have been found in residential premises and the numbers of such breeding in homes remain high," said NEA and MOH.
"Despite various efforts to raise awareness and heightened alert, (the) majority of mosquito breeding is still detected in homes, highlighting the urgent need for residents and premises owners to step up to eradicate mosquito breeding habitats."
NEA also urged premises owners and residents to "cooperate fully" with the agency and allow officers to carry out inspections and spray insecticide to kill any mosquitoes.
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