Dengue cases up in January

SINGAPORE: The number of dengue cases has gone up. The National Environment Agency (NEA) said there were a total of 208 dengue cases last week.

135 and 112 cases were reported in the preceding two weeks.

NEA said this is unusual for January, a month that does not fall under the typical April to October peak transmission period.

NEA said the total number of cases notified in 2013 till 12 Jan is 342. It is a two—a—half—fold increase over the same period in 2012.

NEA said this could be associated with a possible increase in the less common Dengue Type 1 virus which the community has lower immunity against.

NEA is urging the public to be more vigilant in keeping their homes and immediate surroundings free of mosquitos.

According to NEA website, as at Thursday, there are two active clusters in the east and the north.

One cluster (Lorong L, M, and N Telok Kurau, East Coast Road, Dunbar Road, Dunbar Walk, Kurau Grove, and St Patrick’s Rd) has 50 dengue cases, and the other (Woodlands Ave 4, Woodlands Drive 50 and Woodlands Ring Road) has 38 dengue cases.

— CNA/xq