Dengue cases are at their lowest in seven years, with about 4,000 cases recorded in 2025, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA).
There were 3,990 cases of dengue reported as at Dec 26 – a drop of about 70% from the 13,651 cases seen in 2024.
There have been four deaths from the disease so far in 2025, compared with 17 in 2024.
In May, the NEA attributed the lower number of dengue cases in part to efforts such as Project Wolbachia – an initiative to control the Aedes mosquito population through the release of lab-grown male mosquitoes infected with the Wolbachia bacteria.
Project Wolbachia has “very likely” contributed to the decline in dengue in 2025, said Prof Hsu Li Yang, vice-dean of global health at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.
However, Hsu added that it is difficult to judge how much of a role the project has played, given how wildly case numbers have fluctuated in recent years.
Dengue cases here hit a record high of 35,315 in 2020, before falling to 5,258 the following year.
In 2022, the number of infections rose again to 32,325, then decreased to 9,949 in 2023. — The Straits Times/ANN
