An 81-year-old male dengue patient passed away due to dengue infection at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) on 7 November.
According to the joint statement from The Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) the patient was admitted to KTPH on 25 October 2016. His condition deteriorated and he passed away due to the infection on 7 November 2016.
NEA said that patient’s residence at Mandai Estate is not an active dengue cluster. Nonetheless, vector control operations to kill adult mosquitoes and destroy any potential breeding habitats are ongoing.
The agency also urges premises owners and residents to cooperate fully and allow NEA officers to inspect their premises for mosquito breeding and to spray insecticide to kill any mosquitoes.
MOH and NEA jointly expressed their deepest condolences to the family of the patient.
This is the ninth reported death due to dengue infection this year.
Below is the list of the previous patients who succumb to dengue fever this year:
- 22 January – 47-year-old male (admitted to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, lived at Marsiling Rise).
- 10 February – 67-year-old male (admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, lived at Toa Payoh Lorong 4).
- 10 March – 63-year-old female (admitted to Changi General Hospital, lived at Bedok North Street 3).
- 24 March – 73-year-old female (admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, lived at Poh Huat Road West).
- 29 May – 79-year-old male (admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, lived at Jalan Tenaga).
- 25 June – 72-year-old female (admitted to Changi General Hospital, lived at Simei Street 1).
- 4 August – 79-year-old male (admitted to Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, lived at Eastwood Drive).
- 30 August – 11-year-old male (admitted to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, lived at Woodleigh Close).
MOH had earlier warned that the number of cases this year might reach more than 30,000 cases, almost double the number of 11,286 cases reported in 2015. This means that this year will be marked as the highest cases report in history, exceeding 22,170 cases reported in 2013, based on the speed of infections in the start of the year.
However, this is unlikely to happen since the number of the cases has declined sharply during the past two months.
Currently, there are 12 active dengue clusters across the island, with two areas classified as high risk. A cluster in Yishun Avenue 4 and Yishun Street 61 has the highest risk with 82 cases reported, two of which were diagnosed in the past fortnight.
MOH and NEA remind members of the public to remain vigilant and continue to work as a community to suppress the Aedes mosquito population and keep dengue cases in check. The preventive measures will also help to prevent Zika and other vector-borne diseases from taking root in Singapore as the same mosquito vector which transmits dengue also transmits Zika, yellow fever and chikungunya.
