NEA reports 13 dengue deaths in first half of 2024, more than double 2023’s total

SINGAPORE: In the first half of 2024, dengue has claimed the lives of 13 individuals, more than double the number reported for the entire previous year.

According to the latest dengue surveillance data from the National Environment Agency (NEA), released on Wednesday (24 July), there were six deaths reported from April to June, with an additional seven deaths occurring in the first quarter of this year.

For comparison, Singapore recorded six dengue-related deaths last year and 19 in 2022, during a significant dengue outbreak.

So far in 2024, over 10,100 dengue cases have been recorded, surpassing the entire 2023 total.

The threshold was crossed between July 14 and July 20, with 236 new cases documented.

According to the NEA’s report, there were 4,090 dengue cases in the second quarter of 2024, a 20.8 per cent decrease from the preceding quarter.

The annual figure for 2023 was 9,949, a sharp drop from the 32,173 cases in 2022.

NEA had previously warned in March about a rise in dengue infections, noting over 5,000 cases in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

The analysis of positive dengue samples tested between April and June revealed that dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV-2) accounted for 52.2 per cent of the infections, followed by DENV-3 at 33.2 per cent.

In the last quarter, NEA identified 432 dengue clusters, a 16 per cent decrease from the first three months of the year.

Of these 432 clusters, 360 were resolved within the same period.

In the second quarter, NEA also identified approximately 4,800 mosquito breeding habitats, reflecting a 5 per cent decrease from the previous three months.