Adjustment for Baseline Level of Dengue Cases Due to Increased Testing in Singapore

Dengue is endemic in Singapore, and the most recent epidemic occurred in 2013. The mean of weekly number of dengue cases over a five-year period provides an indication of the baseline level. In view of increased laboratory testing for dengue in 2013, an adjustment was made to the computation of the baseline level for 2014. The assumption for our approach in incorporating an adjustment factor was that the proportion of hospitalizations among laboratory-confirmed cases remained constant between 2012 and 2013. This adjustment has helped to provide a more accurate indication of the baseline level of dengue for 2014.