Singapore: Dengue cases top 1,000 in 2014 in first two weeks
The record-setting dengue fever epidemic that struck the city-state of Singapore in 2013 is continuing full speed ahead so far in 2014, according to the latest numbers from the National Environmental Agency (NEA) today.
Female Aedes aegypti mosquito
Image/James Gathany
According to the newest tally of dengue fever cases since Jan. 1, the Asian nation has recorded 1,032 cases, including 485 cases reported from Jan. 5 to Jan. 11.
In addition, a 59-year-old Chinese woman died last week becoming the first dengue fatality of 2014. Last year, Singapore recorded eight fatalities, seven being locally acquired.
The dengue epidemic of 2013 accounted for 22,318 cases, Jan. 1- Dec. 31, easily surpassing the previously high annual total of 14,209 cases recorded during the 2005 epidemic.
Dengue is a mosquito-borne, potentially fatal disease that affects between 50 and 100 million people in tropical and subtropical regions every year, causing fever and muscle and joint aches.
According to the World Health Organization, Dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever are present in urban and suburban areas in the Americas, South-East Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Western Pacific and dengue fever is present mainly in rural areas in Africa.
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