Seven people died of dengue fever in Singapore in the first seven months of this year, according to Channel News Asia report on Wednesday night.

Among the seven, three died in July.

The number for the whole year of 2004 was eight.

During the first seven months of this year, 7,403 dengue fever cases were reported in Singapore, almost double the number of 3, 782 recorded in the corresponding period of last year.

The city state has seen an upward trend in the number of the disease in recent years with a total of 9,459 cases being found last year and 4,788 in 2003.

To tackle the problem, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has allocated additional fund and increased manpower to flush the drains, one of the most likely mosquito breeding sources.

Source: Xinhua