A 79-year-old Singaporean man died of dengue at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital (MENH) on Thursday in Singapore.
A 79-year-old Singaporean man died of dengue at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital (MENH) on Thursday in Singapore.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) in Singapore said the dengue patient had been admitted to MENH on July 30. But his condition deteriorated and he died on Thursday.
This is the seventh reported dengue death in Singapore in 2016.
In a joint statement, the agencies said the patient's home at Eastwood Drive is an active dengue cluster and it was notified on July 13. It also added that the vector control operations have been ongoing since the notification.
PREVENTIVE MEASURES
NEA conducted multiple rounds of inspections in residential premises and outdoor areas, including common areas in the estate. The agencies urged residents to cooperate with them fully.
The residents are requested to allow the NEA officers to inspect their premises for mosquito breeding grounds and to spray insecticide to destroy mosquito larvae.
"As we are in the traditional peak dengue season, we are anticipating an upward trend in the number of dengue cases in the coming months," said MOH and NEA on Thursday.
The agencies asked the public to be careful and work as a community to prevent dengue transmission.
The statement added: "Since April, NEA's Gravitrap data has shown a steady increase in the Aedes aegypti mosquito population in our community and it remains high. As a large proportion of our population is susceptible to dengue infection due to the lack of immunity, an increase in the Aedes mosquito population could lead to a surge in dengue cases unless measures are taken to suppress the Aedes mosquito population."
According to the figures published on NEA's dengue website, the number of dengue cases in Singapore has crossed the five-figure mark and a total of 10,137 cases have been reported since the beginning of this year.
