SINGAPORE, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Total 20 people died of dengue in Singapore last year, more than the originally reported eight fatalities, local English daily The Straits Times reported Wednesday.

    This is nearly three times the number who lost their lives to the bite of the Aedes mosquito in 2006, when seven died, and not much lower than in 2005, when 25 were killed in the worst dengue outbreak here to date.

    The proportion of deaths to the total number of reported cases of 8,826 last year is 0.2 percent, similar to that in 2006.

    The new tally of 20 is based on the latest figures compiled by the Registry of Birth and Deaths, the Health Ministry told the English daily.

    The newspaper said the under-reporting of deaths does highlight a loophole in the reporting system, which requires doctors to notify the Health Ministry when they discover a patient has dengue. However, it is currently not compulsory for doctors or hospitals to tell the ministry if dengue is detected or confirmed after a patient has died.

    The ministry said it is acting to fix the oversight immediately.

    Dengue fever is transmitted to humans by the Aedes mosquito, which breeds in still water. The virus can cause fever, severe headache, joint and muscular pains, vomiting, diarrhea and rashes. There is no commercially ready vaccine for dengue.