SINGAPORE — The number of breeding spots has almost halved since a national campaign was launched in April to eradicate mosquito breeding in homes, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan yesterday.

In June, about 700 mosquito-breeding habitats were found in homes, down from 1,200 in April. The number of summons issued to households for breeding mosquitos also “decreased slightly” to 175 in June from 181 in April, while the number of repeat offenders fell from 10 to four over the same period.

Providing the first update since the Do The Mozzie Wipe-out campaign was rolled out, Dr Balakrishnan said that better community awareness and preparation should “drive down the number of breeding habitats further”. He added: “To control dengue, everyone has to play his or her part to prevent mosquito breeding.”

The number of dengue cases fell for the seventh consecutive week to 264 last week, bringing the total number of dengue cases reported this year to 14,224, according to latest figures from the Ministry of Health. As of yesterday, there were 12 high-risk dengue clusters — those with more than 10 cases — with most located in the west.

In response to a question filed by Member of Parliament Alex Yam (Chua Chu Kang GRC) on whether more proactive measures will be taken to prepare the community for future threats, Dr Balakrishnan said in a written reply that his ministry’s strategy is to minimise the epidemic potential as an effective vaccine is not yet available. This is done through preventive surveillance, elimination of mosquito breeding areas, exterminating adult mosquitoes, public education, community involvement and local enforcement.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has mobilised 2,000 dengue prevention volunteers to go door-to-door to remind residents to remove stagnant water in their homes. The authority has also started distributing insect repellents to all households and schools in the dengue clusters, said Dr Balakrishnan.

With the peak dengue season to continue for another two months, the minister cautioned: “The peak dengue season is not over yet. Everyone should do whatever he can to protect himself and his loved ones against dengue.” WOO SIAN BOON