Sharp rise in dengue infections; over 5,500 cases so far this year

Some of those who have been infected recall dreadful time battling illness

- Joyce Teo

Dengue cases continue to rise here, with the number of new infections hitting 416 in the week of March 31 to April 6. This is 67 cases more than in the previous week.

Already, more than 5,500 people have contracted the infection in the first 14 weeks of 2024, according to National Environment Agency (NEA) data. And, as at March 25, seven people - most of them elderly have died of dengue.

In 2023, the number of dengue cases stood at 9,949, and there were six deaths that year.

There are currently 90 active dengue clusters, of which 20 have 10 or more cases, NEA said.

Several clusters where a fast rate of dengue transmission has been observed include a 118-case cluster in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 and Avenue 4, an 83-case cluster in Marsiling Road and Marsiling Rise, and a cluster of 53 cases in Gangsa Road.

Cases in Singapore have shot up ahead of the traditional peak dengue season from May to October, and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment Baey Yam Keng had warned of the rise when he launched the National Dengue Prevention Campaign 2024 on March 31.

NEA said that since the start of 2024, the weekly number of reported dengue cases has remained high, at above 300.

This, coupled with the high Aedes aegypti mosquito population and the low population immunity to all four dengue virus serotypes here, may lead to a surge in dengue cases in the coming months, if insufficient action is taken, the agency added.

Professor Hsu Li Yang, an infectious diseases expert at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said: "We are certainly seeing a higher number of cases during this period as compared with the past few years, with the possible exception of 2020." In 2020, there were more than 35,000 infections and the highest number of dengue deaths, at 32.