An 81-year-old Singaporean has died of dengue fever at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

In a joint statement yesterday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) said the resident of Mandai Estate was admitted to the hospital on Oct 25. His condition deteriorated and he died on Monday. He is the ninth person to die of dengue this year.

Mandai Estate is not an active dengue cluster, but vector control operations to kill adult mosquitoes and destroy potential breeding habitats are ongoing in the area, the statement said.

MOH and NEA reminded the public to remain vigilant against the Aedes mosquito population and keep dengue cases in check.

There were 12,032 dengue cases reported in the first nine months of the year, but numbers have fallen over the last two months. The number of new cases last week remained below the 100 mark, at 86, while dengue clusters have fallen from 13 to 12.

Derek Wong