Weekly dengue cases in Singapore exceed 300 for the first time this year
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There were 330 reported cases between Sept 10 and Sept 16, and 303 reported cases between Sept 17 and Sept 23.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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SINGAPORE – The number of dengue cases reported here per week has crossed the 300 mark for the first time in 2023.
There were 330 reported cases between Sept 10 and Sept 16, and 303 between Sept 17 and Sept 23, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA) website.
Between Sunday and Tuesday, there were 124 reported cases as at the time of publication.
It brings the total number of dengue cases in 2023 to more than 7,000.
As at June, there were two reported deaths in 2023 due to local dengue infection, according to NEA’s quarterly dengue surveillance data.
More than 32,000 dengue cases were reported in 2022. It was the second-highest number in a year, after a record of more than 35,000 cases were reported in 2020.
There are now more than 60 active dengue clusters, and nine are in the red-alert classification – a cluster with 10 or more cases, according to NEA data as at Monday.
Clusters in the red-alert band include Science Park Drive, Club Street and Lentor Loop.
The NEA website stated that “with the increase in proportion of the previously less prevalent dengue virus serotype 1 (Denv-1)”, Singapore may sustain a “high level of dengue transmission towards the end of the year”.
The rise in proportion of a previously less prevalent dengue virus serotype is of concern, because it has historically been associated with a surge in dengue cases months later, said the NEA website.
It added that the warmer months from May to October usually see higher dengue transmission in Singapore, due to accelerated development of the Aedes mosquito vector and faster multiplication of the dengue virus in mosquitoes.
