85-year-old man second to die from dengue this year

SINGAPORE — The dengue menace claimed its second fatality this year, with the death of an 85-year-old man.

The patient — who died on Monday a day after he had been admitted to hospital — lived at Joo Chiat Lane, which was in a former dengue cluster of 15 cases, said a joint statement by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) yesterday.

The NEA said it had detected four instances of breeding in the cluster, all in the common areas, adding that it would continue with inspections and vector-control operations in the vicinity.

The elderly man’s death came about six months after a 59-year-old woman died of dengue haemorrhagic fever.

While the number of dengue cases reported last week has fallen for the third week in a row, the NEA remains concerned about dengue transmission, noting that more clusters continue to form in the western and northern areas of the island.

As of Monday at 3.30pm, the total number of dengue cases for the year was 11,225, with 754 cases reported last week — down from 821 in the previous week, the NEA’s website said.

“Despite the slight dip in cases, we must not let our guard down as the risk of dengue transmission remains high,” the agency said.

“Besides the major clusters of concern in the central and eastern parts of Singapore, we are starting to see more cases and clusters in the western and northern parts, especially at Chua Chu Kang,” it added.

As of last Friday, Chua Chu Kang had seven dengue clusters, with a total of 585 cases reported. The majority of breeding was found in domestic containers such as flower pots, pails, trays and ornamental containers in residential premises.

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said last week the rate of potential mosquito breeding in homes and construction sites was still “unacceptably high” and called on Singaporeans to take responsibility in their homes and neighbourhoods to improve the dengue situation.

In their joint statement, the MOH and the NEA noted that Singapore was in the midst of the peak dengue season.

“A large proportion of our population are still susceptible to dengue infection due to the lack of immunity to DENV-1, which accounts for almost 90 per cent of infections.

“We urge everyone to continue maintaining vigilance and prevent mosquito breeding by doing the 5-step Mozzie Wipeout,” the statement said.