Singapore sharply raises 2007 dengue deaths

A total
of 2
00 people died of dengue fever in Singapore2007, instead of the eight previously reported, the Straits Times of Singapore reported On TuesdayThat's well above the seven cases in2006, and close to the highest number of deaths recorded at the height of the2
005
2
5Singapore's Ministry of Health says the statistical omission is due to the country's Infectious Diseases Act, which requires doctors to report to the Ministry of Health after diagnosing a patient with dengue fever, but does not mandate reporting cases that are diagnosed after deathThe Ministry of Health said it would improve its reporting system for infectious diseasesSingapore reported 8,826 cases of dengue fever last year
, more than double theof 3,126 in 2006Singapore's National Environment Agency said recently that does not rule out the possibility that the country has more cases of dengue fever this year than in 2007 According to statistics , a total of 116 cases of dengue fever were reported in Singapore in the first week of , higher than in the same period in the previous two years Dengue fever is an acute tropical infection transmitted by mosquitoes , and patients often experience symptoms such as fever and muscle pain Dengue is classified as common dengue and haemorrhagic dengue, the latter with a higher mortality rate