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SINGAPORE: People living in residential developments face a higher risk of contracting dengue fever as homes there have a higher incidence of breeding of the Aedes mosquito, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Friday (October 30).
A total of 32,806 dengue cases have been reported this year as of Thursday, NEA said in the press release. There were 15,998 cases of dengue throughout 2019.
There were also 565 cases last week alone, a five percent drop from the previous week.
However, the rate of decline in dengue cases has slowed down and the number of weekly dengue cases remains high.
In August and September, the dengue incidence rate (the number of dengue cases per 100,000 residents) was estimated to be around 820 per 100,000 residents living in residential residences.
This is about three to six times higher than for residents living in private apartments and HDB flats, NEA said.
“From January to September 2020, the number of dengue cases in residential residences also accounted for about 25 percent of the total number of dengue cases in Singapore,” the agency said.
This is proportionally higher than the percentage of residential homes with land.
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TOPOGRAPHY OF LANDED HOUSES MOST FAVORABLE FOR BREEDING
According to the NEA, the topography of residential homes makes it “more favorable” for mosquito breeding than private apartments and HDB apartments.
“This is due to the larger surface areas and the greater variety of structures and receptacle types, within residential homes and their compounds, that are conducive to harboring mosquito breeding habitats.”
In addition to the usual household and ornamental containers, and planter and planter plates or trays found in most residential homes, mosquito breeding is also found in water fountains, roof gutters, and drains within complexes. of the farms, NEA said.
During inspections of the landed residential homes, NEA said it also continued to detect “a high incidence of breeding of the Aedes mosquito.”
LARGE DENGUE GROUPS IN PASIR RIS, TOA PAYOH
In the statement, the NEA said there were large groups of dengue fever at Lorong 1 Toa Payoh, Pasir Ris Drive 10, Carman Street / Elite Park Avenue, Cambridge Road, and Cheng Soon Garden, where intensive vector control operations are underway. .
As of Thursday, there were 162 dengue clusters in Singapore, a decrease of fifteen clusters from the previous week.
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Since the beginning of this year, 2,657 of 2,819 dengue conglomerates have also been closed.
“We have also seen a slower rate of disease transmission in some of the larger dengue clusters,” NEA said.
The NEA added that even though Singapore was moving beyond the traditional peak dengue season of May to October, the number of dengue cases remains high, hovering around 500 to 600 cases per week for the past five weeks.
“Together with the growing population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, this may lead to another increase in dengue cases in the coming months,” he added.
The agency reminded members of the public, especially those residing in dengue conglomerate areas, to take all three dengue protection actions: spray insecticide in dark corners of the house, apply insect repellent regularly and wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants.
