By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

Environmental officials in Singapore have reported a steady increase in dengue fever cases over the past five weeks.

Aedes mosquito
Aedes aegypti image/CDC

Through Friday, 14,617 dengue cases have been report, including 20 deaths.

The adult Aedes aegypti mosquito population, determined by the Gravitraps deployed by the National Environment Agency (NEA), has increased by 32% in October, compared to in September. Notably, NEA has also observed a 55% increase in the rate of detection of Aedes aegypti larval habitats found in homes in October, compared to in September.

Taken together, these are indications that the number of dengue cases may continue to rise further. The increase in dengue cases observed at the end of the year has been noted before in previous years, particularly in 2013 and 2015; and on both occasions, Singapore entered the following year with an atypically high number of dengue cases.