Nearly 5,500 dengue cases recorded

Close to 5,500 dengue cases have been reported here so far this year, exceeding the total number of cases recorded in the whole of last year, said Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu.

A total of 5,258 cases were logged in 2021.

The week ending on April 22 saw 746 dengue infections. This is the highest seven-day figure since the week of Aug 30 to Sept 5 in 2020, when 937 cases were reported.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has said that Singapore is currently facing a serious dengue situation and could see a major outbreak this year.

The continuous sharp rise in cases comes before the traditional peak dengue season from mid-year to October.

As at last Friday, there were 180 active dengue clusters.

NEA said the surge in cases this year is due to three factors. First, the recent warm, rainy and humid weather may have led to a high number of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the community.

Second, the previously uncommon dengue virus serotype 3 is now circulating here, along with dengue virus serotype 2, which had contributed to the large outbreak here in 2019 and 2020.

Third, a proportion of the workforce is still working from home, leading to greater exposure to the mosquitoes, which feed in the day. — The Straits Times/ANN