SINGAPORE – The total number of dengue cases in Singapore reached the 7,000 mark as of 3pm yesterday (May 17).
This is higher than the total number of cases reported for the whole of last year and 2011. There were 4,632 cases reported last year and 5,330 reported in 2011.
There has been however, a slight dip in the number of cases reported in the past week.
There were 510 cases reported in the week ending 17 May as of 3pm, compared to 562 the week before. Of the 7,000 cases, 159 are in construction sites. That is more than double the number reported last year.
There were 71 cases reported in construction sites in 2012, about 1.5 per cent of total dengue cases in 2012.
This makes up 2.3 per cent of the total dengue cases reported.
Mr Ho Ngok Yong, president of SCAL, said: “We want to make sure that, preferably zero (per cent) because all our construction sites now, you can see these buildings, are very near to residential places. Proximity is very close. Any outbreak therefore will affect residents.”
Mr Derek Ho, director-general of public health at National Environment Agency, said: “We’ve only found about five per cent of breeding habitats that’s from construction sites. In fact the majority of breeding habitats are still within homes, about 70 per cent of the breeding (sites). But we think it’s very important that all stakeholders in the community do their part to eradicate potential mosquito breeding habitats.”
There were about 638 mosquito breeding sites found in construction sites so far this year. A total of 722 sites were found in construction sites in 2012.
The association has mobilised more than 150 construction sites to join the fight against dengue. It has also adopted several practices to prevent mosquito breeding at its premises.
These include levelling uneven ground to prevent water from collecting and spraying oil on drainage areas. CHANNEL NEWSASIA
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