900 Households Found with Mosquito Breeding Habitats & Fined for at Least $200

Mosquitoes. Where do I even start?

So on one hand, they’re pretty nasty blood-suckers… absolutely vile creatures that rely on the iron-rich blood of humans to make more vile nasty blood-sucking creatures.

Kinda like humans really, but I’m digressing.

And then, on the other hand, they’re pretty much disliked by the entire human population. Small wonder why we fight tooth and nail to deny those damn critters a place in our house.

“Begone muthaf*ckers,” my Uncle Thomas once screamed as he dumped an entire pot of still water out of his kitchen window. “Begone!”

“You’re breathtaking!” his neighbour living in the opposite block then shouted in appreciation.

“No, you’re breathtaking!” Uncle Thomas shouted back. “In fact, you’re all breathtaking!”

And in unison, two entire HDB flats’ worth of residents began clapping. Legendary stuff.

But even though my uncle Thomas is so darn conscientious when it comes to anti-mosquito propaganda, the fact remains that there’ll always be less conscientious people lurking around. And if anything else…

The following headline just serves to sum it all up.

900 Households Found with Mosquito Breeding Habitats & Fined for at Least $200

According to TODAYonline, around 900 households have been fined at least S$200 for the breeding of mosquitoes as of May this year, as authorities stepped on the gas to halt the recent spike in dengue cases.

In a media statement conducted on Sunday (23 June), the National Environment Agency (NEA) stated that it had conducted more than 372,000 inspections islandwide, from January to May this year. And during this period, the agency unearthed about 6,500 cases of mosquito breeding habitats.

Shocking figures. 

In addition, the NEA has said that the proportion of breeding discovered in homes in cluster areas was 74 per cent, which it identified as more than the national average of 60 per cent.

The highest proportion of breeding found in homes in a cluster area, on the other hand, was 85 per cent. And the lucky district to boast such figures?

The Woodlands cluster which includes Woodlands Avenue 6, Circle, Crescent and Drives 60, 70 and 72.

According to the NEA, this cluster didn’t just boast the highest number of dengue cases (at 199 as of 2 April) but also nine instances of “profuse mosquito breeding” which saw some homes unintentionally breeding at least 50 mosquito larvae inside uncovered containers.

A general uptrend

As of 17 June, the number of active dengue clusters has more than doubled in the past month to 112. And while geographical clusters, such as the aforementioned Woodlands, as well as Geylang, Jalan Lembah Thomson and Chai Chee, definitely “accounted for the bulk of the increase in dengue cases”, the NEA has warned that that has been a general uptrend in dengue cases across the island.

“The dengue transmission is therefore not localised, and everyone has to be alert to the threat,” said the agency.

Also, residents, especially those living within these cluster areas, are advised by the NEA to safeguard themselves by applying mosquito repellant routinely and ensuring the cleanliness of their homes by disposing of stagnant water.

The NEA has also stated that in a bid to safeguard public health, it will not hesitate to employ enforcement actions against anyone discovered to have produced conditions favourable for the breeding of mosquitoes.

“As we are in the traditional peak dengue season, concerted community action is urgently needed to bring down the Aedes mosquito population, to prevent more people from being infected with the dengue virus,” said the NEA.

As of 15 June this month, there have a total of 5,184 reported dengue cases this year.

This, according to the NEA, is around four times the 1,242 dengue cases recorded in the same period last year (2018).

And it has to be noted that within the week alone, there were already 467 reported cases of dengue.

“Singapore has not seen such a high weekly number of cases since March 2016,” said the agency.

Just four days ago, it’s reported that another person has died from dengue, making it the fifth death this year. And June’s not even over.

So… what now?

Well, for starters, you might want to really empty out your house in search of those elusive mosquito breeding habitats. Now, not saying that you should beware of that $200 fine (even though you should be), but really, what’s 15 mins of thorough searching gonna do…

Compared to a potential nest of mosquitoes that might hurt your loved ones?

So do them, as well as yourself, a huge favour;

Let’s save our homes from dengue, starting today.