9,135 dengue cases so far this year
Figure is about five times more than the total number reported in the same period last year
Singapore is in peak dengue season, with 9,135 cases reported as of Aug 2 - about five times more than the total number of dengue cases reported in the same period last year.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) said yesterday that peak dengue season usually stretches from June to October, and the surrounding region is also seeing a surge of dengue cases this year.
The agency added that in just one week ending on July 27, a total of 610 cases were reported here.
Between January and June this year, about 60 per cent of the Aedes mosquito breeding habitats detected across the island were found in homes.
This figure rises to 70 per cent in dengue cluster areas.
As of Aug 2, there were still 190 active dengue clusters around the island.
The largest such cluster is in Chai Chee, with 145 cases, while the second largest cluster is currently in Pasir Ris, which the NEA has labelled a high-risk area.
A total of 124 dengue cases have been reported in Pasir Ris Drives 3, 4 and 6, as well as Pasir Ris Street 41, since the area became a dengue cluster on June 11 this year. But those in the area are fighting back.
One estate doing so is Eastvale Condominium in Pasir Ris Drive 3. Nine of its residents have fallen ill with dengue since June 11. The management decided to step up its anti-mosquito measures after finding out the condominium was in a cluster area in June.
Actions taken included alerting cleaners to check for signs of water ponding, teaching residents the importance of good housekeeping and increasing the rate of misting to twice a week.
Residents were given sand granular insecticide and taught how to use it.
Ms Sally Tan, the condominium's treasurer, said the measures were worth the additional cost of around $750 a month, which was borne by the management.
A resident, housewife Joewe Koh, 37, said she was initially worried for the safety of her children after discovering the neighbourhood was a dengue cluster.
However, she felt the management's efforts had paid off.
"In the past, whenever we went downstairs, we'd get bitten. Nowadays, we don't get bitten... We can go to the pool, to the playground, and feel safe."
Last month, the NEA announced that Project Wolbachia, which involves the release of sterile male mosquitoes leading to mosquito eggs that cannot hatch, had achieved up to 90 per cent suppression of the urban Aedes aegypti mosquito population at study sites in Yishun and Tampines.
But the project is still under research and has not been deployed in dengue clusters yet.
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