In 2019, Singapore saw its worst dengue outbreak in over three years, with 16,000 cases and 20 deaths.
Assistant Professor Vincent Pang, Director, Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research (CIDER), said there is likely to be a similar outbreak in the middle of the year.
This is especially so if many residents choose to visit countries with their own dengue epidemics during the warm and rainy season.
Mr Chew Ming Fai, Director-General of Public Health, National Environment Agency (NEA), attributed the spike in dengue cases last year to three factors: the high number of mosquitoes in Singapore, a warmer climate leading to the faster breeding of mosquitoes and lower herd immunity among Singapore residents.
He added that NEA’s Wolbachia trials are unlikely to have a ‘significant impact’ on the situation. Despite the good outcome of these trials in Yishun and Tampines, Mr Chew said that the project is still in its research phase, and the next step for NEA is to understand how and in which areas it should release the Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes.
Talk of the environment and sustainability has gained much traction in 2019, including topics of climate change, food security and efforts to cut waste. Read on to get a closer look at what lies ahead on the environmental front for Singapore this year.
Media coverage: