S’pore dengue cases drop 66% in first 5 months of 2026; most breeding sites in 2025 found in homes

SINGAPORE – There were more than 600 dengue cases from January to May 15, 2026, a 66 per cent decrease compared with the same period in 2025, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said.

These figures were announced in a statement by NEA on May 16, during the launch of the National Dengue Prevention Campaign 2026 at Our Tampines Hub.

Singapore’s peak dengue season is from May to October.

One death from dengue has been recorded so far in 2026.

The highest number of dengue deaths recorded in a year in Singapore was 32, in 2020. The previous high was 25 in 2005.

NEA said it discovered 20,469 mosquito breeding habitats out of 565,730 mosquito inspections islandwide in 2025.

In dengue cluster areas that year, NEA said 65 per cent of Aedes mosquito breeding sites were in homes.

Public areas accounted for 23 per cent of breeding sites, 4 per cent were found in construction sites and 8 per cent in other premises.

Dengue clusters are formed when two or more cases have an onset of the disease within 14 days of each other, and are located within 150m of each other.

The NEA took more than 9,800 enforcement actions against owners and occupiers of premises for mosquito breeding in 2025, along with 810 fines and 37 stop-work orders issued to construction sites.

According to the NEA website, first-time residential offenders face a $200 composition sum if a single mosquito breeding habitat is detected. This rises to $300 for multiple sites, or if breeding is detected after a legal notice has already been served within a dengue cluster area.

Construction sites face first-time fines of $3,000, with repeat offenders facing fines of $5,000.

NEA said 73 contractors were charged with repeat offences.

Overall, there were more than 4,000 dengue cases reported in 2025, the lowest annual total since 2018.

Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Janil Puthucheary, who spoke at the campaign launch, said: “The current dengue situation is relatively stable, but we cannot let that success or that stability lull us into complacency.”

Dengue is endemic in Singapore, said NEA, and the country’s role as an international transport hub, low population immunity and the circulation of all four dengue virus serotypes heighten transmission risk.

It said the country’s tropical climate and high population density are ideal conditions for mosquitoes to thrive, and in warmer temperatures, accelerate mosquito development and virus multiplication.

Said NEA: “It is critical that residents and stakeholders remain vigilant and alert to the risks of mosquito-borne diseases.”

NEA’s Project Wolbachia is under way, and by October, more than 800,000 households will be covered by it.

Between April and October, the programme will be progressively rolled out to Bukit Panjang, Little India, Pioneer, Toa Payoh and Ang Mo Kio.

NEA had said studies have shown that the risk of contracting dengue is lowered by over 70 per cent at Project Wolbachia sites and by 45 per cent at adjacent areas.

However, Dr Janil said this technology is designed to complement and not replace proven efforts to target dengue at its source.

He said: “We have to remove stagnant water, and this remains the most direct and effective way to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.”

NEA said residents can remove potential breeding grounds by breaking up hardened soil, emptying flowerpot plates, overturning pails, changing water and keeping roof gutters clean.

Climate change is happening, Dr Janil said, with rising temperatures and unpredictable rain.

He said: “These shifts are already changing how diseases like dengue take hold and spread. As dengue risk grows with our changing climate, community action remains our strongest and most reliable defence.”