THE dengue situation has crossed into epidemic levels for the second time this year - the weekly number of cases here hit 381 last week.

That brings the number of people with dengue in the first 26 weeks of the year to 3,597. Three people have died.

Anything above 378 cases a week is considered an epidemic. The situation first crossed that line in the week of June 10, when it hit 401 cases.

There was a slight let-up last week, though Associate Professor Leo Yee Sin, clinical director of the Communicable Disease Centre and head of Tan Tock Seng Hospital's infectious disease department, had warned that it would be temporary.

She said: 'The number of cases is likely to fluctuate week by week, and it is likely that the level will remain high for the next few months.'

She is confident the figures will not match 2005, when there were 14,209 cases and 25 deaths, but only if 'all necessary measures' are put in place.

'All effort is needed to keep the numbers down,' she added.

The figures are expected to stay high until the usual mid-August or September peak. There were another 40 cases in the past two days alone.

There are now 78 areas where dengue is actively transmitted. In 15 of them, at least 10 people have been hit.

The situation remains bad in areas like Kim Keat, which has 31 cases, and where the dengue-spreading Aedes aegypti mosquito has been biting for close to a month.

It is also no better in the West Coast, where, between West Coast Road, West Coast Drive, West Coast Walk and Jalan Mas Puteh, there has been a combined 53 cases of dengue, and where the disease has been actively transmitted for more than 11/2 months.

Both the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) urge the public to be on even higher alert and to stay vigilant against mosquito breeding.

Those in known clusters should be extra careful, said the NEA. It advised spraying insecticide each morning in dark corners - for example, behind curtains and sofas - to get at mosquitos in hiding, and to apply mosquito repellent.

All clusters are listed on the Campaign Against Dengue website ( www.dengue.gov.sg )

MOH also reminds the public they should seek immediate medical attention if they have a fever. If diagnosed with dengue, they should use mosquito coils, nets and repellent to stop the disease being transmitted further.

'There should be no let-up in our efforts to break the chain of transmission. Continued vigilance is necessary,' said an MOH spokesman.

arti@sph.com.sg

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