Four more dengue deaths, bringing total to nine this year
Four more people, including a 46-year-old man, have died of dengue, bringing the total deaths this year to nine as of July 20.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a joint reply to media queries yesterday that there were 8,020 dengue cases reported to MOH as of July 20.
This was about five times more than the total number of dengue cases reported in the same period last year.
In 2017, there were 2,772 cases of dengue infections in Singapore—a 16-year low. Last year, there were 3,285 cases.
Three men died on July 16. Two of them, aged 77 and 65, lived in areas that are within active dengue clusters, in Eunos Crescent and Bedok Reservoir Road. The other man, 46, had Woodlands Drive 50 as his last documented address.
Another man, who was 70, died on June 30. He lived in Hougang Ave 5, which was within a previously active dengue cluster that closed on July 12.
Last year, five people aged 41 to 75 died from dengue fever. In 2017, there were two dengue deaths, and 12 deaths in 2016.
Since the notification of the Eunos Crescent cluster on June 28, NEA has detected and destroyed eight mosquito breeding habitats, all found on residential premises.
For the Bedok Reservoir Road cluster, since its notification on June 25, NEA has detected and destroyed 11 breeding habitats, with five of them in residential areas.
REACHING OUT
When contacted, Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC MP Ong Teng Koon, whose ward includes the Woodlands Drive 50 area, said he and grassroots leaders were "extremely saddened" by the death in Woodlands and will be reaching out to the affected family to provide support.
"Grassroots leaders and myself along with NEA colleagues have been stepping up house visits to remind residents to be alert to stagnant water and to be familiar with the five-step mozzie wipeout to prevent mosquito breeding," he said.
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