Singapore reports third death from dengue this year
SINGAPORE- Singapore has reported the third death from dengue this year amid an epidemic in the city state.
The patient was an 86-year-old man, the Ministry of Health and the National Environment Agency said in a statement on Tuesday evening.
The patient sought help at a local hospital on June 22 with a one-day history of fever and was found to have low blood pressure. He was admitted on the same day and subsequently diagnosed to have dengue shock syndrome with kidney failure and liver inflammation.
The patient died on Tuesday afternoon.
The number of dengue cases reported in Singapore continued to rise recently, with a total of 11,217 cases as of Wednesday morning. This is far more than what had been reported in the same period time in past years, though news of the epidemic has been out of the spotlight recently as the transboundary haze resulting from the illegal practice of clearing land by fire for farming made headlines in the region and beyond.
Singapore had the worst dengue epidemic in 2005, when about 14, 000 people were infected, with 25 deaths.
Dengue fever is an illness caused by infection with a virus transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, with the symptoms including fever, fatigue as well as joint and muscle pains.
Source: Xinhua
