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No more 'red' dengue clusters in Singapore
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A "yellow" dengue alert banner seen along a covered walkway in Aljunied Crescent, Singapore, on Sept 2, 2016. (The Straits Times/File)
T
he number of new dengue cases last week fell to a new low of 72, according to the latest statistics from the National Environment Agency's (NEA) dengue website.
This was the lowest figure recorded for the year, and 12 fewer than the previous week.
As of Nov 21, a total of 12,698 cases of the mosquito-borne virus have been reported since the start of the year - more than the 11,286 cases in the whole of 2015.
The number of dengue clusters across the island has also shrunk steadily over the past two months, with the last "red" high-risk cluster - located at Yishun Avenue 4 and Yishun Street 61 - closed last week.
Eight "yellow" clusters remain. A "red" cluster is an area with 10 or more dengue cases, while a "yellow" one has less than 10.
While NEA initially warned in February that cases this year could hit a historic high of over 30,000 cases, this now appears unlikely.
Instead, it has urged the public to maintain efforts to suppress the Aedes mosquito population. The mosquito is responsible for transmitting both the dengue and Zika viruses, as well as yellow fever and chikungunya.
There have been nine dengue deaths this year - compared to four in 2015. The latest victim was an 81-year-old man from Mandai Estate who died on Nov 7.
This article appeared on The Straits Times newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
