SINGAPORE, Sept. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Some 125 dengue cases were reported in the past 24 hours in Singapore, making it the fifth consecutive day which saw the number exceeding 100, Channel NewsAsia reported on Saturday night.

    The Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources has started to collect blood and saliva samples from residents in Sims Avenue in southern Singapore, where 20 people were hit by the disease in the past week.

    Doctors will analyze the samples for antibodies against dengue infection, hoping to find out how many people who have got the disease without showing any obvious symptoms like high fever, body ache and rash.

    Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced on Friday that an inter-ministerial committee led by Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim has been formed to deal with the recent surge in dengue fever cases.

    He said that the government is looking very closely at the current situation which has been quite worrying, and urged Singaporeans to take the threat seriously.

    Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan also appealed to the public "to take a SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) approach" in dealing with the situation.

    Up to Sept. 3, 8,850 dengue fever cases have been reported in Singapore from the beginning of this year, while the total number for last year was 9,459 cases, almost doubling the 4,788 cases in 2003.

    Earlier this month, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has allocated 6 million Singapore dollars (about 3.6 million US dollars) for a dedicated mosquito control program. Enditem