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Dengue clusters: NEA flags areas of concern

SINGAPORE — The weekly number of dengue cases fell to 443 last week, reversing a rebound in the previous week, figures released by the National Environment Agency (NEA) showed today (Aug 18).

Aedes mosquito. TODAY file photo

Aedes mosquito. TODAY file photo

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SINGAPORE — The weekly number of dengue cases fell to 443 last week, reversing a rebound in the previous week, figures released by the National Environment Agency (NEA) showed today (Aug 18).

Nonetheless, Singapore remains in peak dengue season and areas of concern include the dengue clusters at the MacPherson, Choa Chu Kang, Kaki Bukit and Ubi areas, the agency said.

As of last Friday, there were seven dengue clusters in the MacPherson area, with 330 reported cases. 249 of them were from two clusters, at Circuit Road and Balam Road. Most of the breeding found were in residential premises and common areas. Of the 31 breeding habitats detected during the NEA’s inspections so far, 16 were in homes — mostly in domestic containers such as pails, flower pots, trays and ornamental containers — and 15 were in common areas. No breeding has been found in the construction sites so far.

In Kaki Bukit and Ubi on the other hand, most of the 61 reported dengue cases were workers in the industrial area. The NEA has in the past week deployed 100 officers to carry out search-and-destroy operations at the three clusters in this area, and 10 breeding habitats have been detected so far.

Of these, six were in industrial areas and four were detected in common areas. Another 49 breeding habitats were detected in the areas surrounding the clusters.

Meanwhile, the number of cases reported in the Choa Chu Kang clusters have slowed down, with five cases reported in the last two weeks. As of last Friday (Aug 15), there were six dengue clusters located in the Choa Chu Kang and Keat Hong constituencies, with a total of 770 dengue cases reported. Of the 770 cases, 567 cases were residents in the vicinity, while 203 cases were workers from construction sites.

Stop Work Orders were previously issued to the main contractors of three construction sites, and they were lifted on Aug 1 as they “demonstrated adequate preventive housekeeping”, the NEA said.

The agency pointed out that the majority of mosquito breeding found at the Choa Chu Kang clusters were in residential premises. 113 breeding habitats have been found in homes, of which the majority were found in domestic containers such as pails, flower pots, trays and ornamental containers.

There were 547 reported dengue cases in the preceding week. As of Aug 15, there have been 13,156 dengue cases reported this year.

The NEA has conducted about two million inspections this year and will continue to focus on areas that have higher potential for dengue transmission, such as construction sites. It has issued 598 Notices to Attend Court and 71 Stop Work Orders, and 14 contractors have been prosecuted in court for repeat offences as of Aug 15.

“We will continue to prosecute recalcitrant errant contractors and press for deterrent sentences,” the agency said.

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