Dengue Cases in S’pore Dropped for the 7th Consecutive Week But There Has Been More Mosquitoes

By
Teresa Chia
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Thank goodness dengue cases have dropped…but why are there more mosquitoes flying around?

Lest you didn’t know, following the global pandemic, the rise in dengue cases has plagued our tiny island.

Fogging And Safe Neighbourhoods

In the past few weeks, you would have seen our hard-working migrant workers fogging our drains and chutes to rid if of pesky mosquitoes, and it appears to be working.

As of 29 September, Singapore has confirmed 30,431 cases of dengue.

In the past 7 weeks, dengue cases have been consistently decreasing and dropping each week. The credit goes to our responsible citizens as well as NEA workers who have maximised their efforts to keep Singapore dengue-free.

The week before, 671 cases were reported and just last week, only 593 cases were confirmed.

From 2,543 clusters, the NEA has confirmed that they have closed about 92% of the clusters with only 195 clusters remaining.

Numbers are still alarming but thankfully, decreasing.

We just want the mosquitoes to go away, we will do anything. Read until the end of the article to find out what we can do to contribute to the fight against the flies.

Then Why Are There More Mosquitoes

NEA utilises a surveillance system named Gravitrap to monitor the Aedes aegypti mosquito population in residential communities. They look like tiny bins but are as small as an ashtray.

Image: NEA

The system detected a 12% increase in the number of mosquitoes in the past three weeks.

The rise in the population is credited to the Aedes mosquito breeding season that is estimated to until October.

These areas continue to have high clusters:

Arnasalam Chetty Road / Kim Yam Road Aljunied Road / Geylang Road / Guillemard Road / Ang Mo Kio Avenue 2 / East Coast Road / Jalan Baiduri / Bedok North Avenue 1

If you stay near these areas, you know what to do.

If We Are Unable To Stop It, How Can We At Least Avoid It

Here are some tips and tricks to keep dengue mosquitoes at bay. Of course, we are not saying it is a foolproof method but it will help curb breeding in your homes.

  1. Get rid of stagnant water. Do this by turning over flower pots and discarding old buckets of water. Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water as small as a 20 cent coin. Imagine how many mosquitoes your bucket will breed.
  2. Clean our gutters and place BTI insecticide into the gutters.
  3. Use an aerosol spray in your homes during the day.
  4. Wear comfortable clothes that cover large surface areas on the body such as your arms and legs. If it’s too hot, try Uniqlo’s Airism collection.
  5. Hang mosquito nets over your beds to keep you safe at night.
  6. Wear mosquito repellent during the day.
  7. After sunset, keep doors and windows at home closed. That is kind of trapping existing mosquitoes in but at least it keeps the rest out, right?
  8. You could line mosquito nets on your windows should you wish to keep them open for air circulation.
  9. Spring clean your homes frequently.
  10. Avoid leaving food with condensation and water out in the open.

NEA encourages citizens to continue being responsible with their water waste and urges neighbourhoods to stay vigilant even as cases drop.

And if you’re wondering why mosquitoes appear to bite just you, check out this video (and also subscribe to our YouTube channel for more informative videos, please!):

Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:

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Teresa Chia
Email: [email protected]