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Singapore sees highest weekly number of dengue cases

Xinhua, December 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

A total of 377 dengue cases were reported in the week ending Dec. 26 in Singapore, the highest weekly number reported in 2015 so far, a senior official said on Tuesday.

The figure was "unusually high for this time of year," said Senior Minister of State for Environment and Water Resources and Health Amy Khor.

"Getting infected with one dengue strain does not mean you are immune against the others. This change in the main circulating dengue virus may be an early indicator of a future dengue outbreak, unless measures are taken to suppress the Aedes mosquito population," Khor wrote in her Facebook update.

As of Nov. 30, Singapore's National Environment Agency has conducted more than 1.3 million inspections island-wide. It is also working with stakeholders to implement "source reduction" to bring down the number of breeding habits.

The increase in the Aedes mosquito population is related to the warmer than usual year-end weather because of the El Nino phenomenon.

The warmer conditions support faster breeding and maturation cycles of the Aedes mosquitoes, and shorten incubation periods for the dengue virus, according to Khor. Enditem