223 cases of dengue in past week, 4th straight week that figure exceeds 200 mark

A woman walks past a dengue alert banner at Dunbar Walk. PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - Reported dengue cases hit 223 last week, marking the fourth consecutive week that the figure has exceeded 200.

According to the latest figures on the National Environment Agency's (NEA) dengue website, this was 24 fewer cases than the previous week.

Another 28 cases of the mosquito-borne virus were reported from Sunday (July 17) to 3pm on Monday (July 18).

In total, 9,613 cases have been reported since the start of 2016.

A total of six people have died from dengue this year, two more than in the whole of 2014.

The most recent case involved a 72-year-old woman who lived in Simei Street 1.

With Singapore currently in the traditional peak dengue season, NEA has already warned the public that an upward trend of dengue cases in the coming months is to be anticipated.

NEA's Gravitrap data also observed a 50 per cent increase in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes caught in its traps and urges the public that source eradication of mosquito breeding habitats and spraying of insecticides to control adult mosquito population remain key in preventing dengue.

As of Monday, there were 44 active dengue clusters, with eight classified as high-risk.

A cluster in Telok Kurau is currently the highest risk with 70 reported cases in total since the start of the cluster.

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