dengue fever

Fiji reels from dengue as it recovers from Covid-19 and cyclone

The country was still reeling from the devastation caused by Cyclone Harold last month and heavy rains last week.

Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said dengue was spread by mosquitoes which thrived in pools of still water that gathered after a storm.

He urged the public to work with health officials who were conducting a door-to-door LTDD campaign to tackle leptospirosis, typhoid, dengue and diarrhoea.

"LTDD and Covid-19 share the same symptoms and the same precautions can be taken to combat them."

Dengue claims two lives in Tuvalu

The WHO Pacific reports that there have been 476 dengue like-illness cases; of which 211 were laboratory confirmed.

The majority of the cases (45%) are in children.

In March, Tuvalu's Ministry of Health reported a surge in cases of dengue-like illness.

Tuvalu is to host the Pacific Islands Forum in August.

     

Six people isolated as Palau fights to beat dengue

Health minister Imaes Roberts said those in hospital are not in a critical condition and there have been no deaths related to the latest dengue type 3 outbreak which was detected last month.

Mr Roberts said five people died from the mosquito borne disease in 2016 but he said he's confident the latest outbreak will be contained.

He said the public has taken preventative measures against mosquitoes but says recent rain has not helped.

He praised the public's response to clean-up and awareness campaigns regarding preventative measures against mosquitoes.

Bacteria could be key to freeing South Pacific of mosquitoes

A biomedical lab in Tahiti has succeeded in nearly eradicating mosquitoes from a tiny nearby island, and researchers are gearing up to eliminate the pests from a larger island that is permanently inhabited by people. 

The eventual goal is to cut off transmission routes for mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika, which plague the Pacific. Researchers also hope that reducing the mosquito burden will help populations of local birds. On other islands, such as Hawaii, avian malaria spread by mosquitoes can devastate bird populations. 

Climate change implicated in dengue fever outbreaks in Pacific islands

New Zealand travellers are being warned to take precautions when going to affected areas amid a surge of dengue fever in the Pacific this year, and a “type 2” strain that hasn't been seen in 20 years.

The symptoms of aching joints, headaches and fever are the same, but the absence of the strain until recently means many people haven't developed immunity to it.

First dengue case in Futuna

The public broadcaster says a teenager brought the virus from New Caledonia where an epidemic has been declared.

The infected patient is in hospital in Kaleveleve while health authorities have launched a campaign to prevent the spread of the disease.

The patient's home is being sprayed while staffs at the clinic rely on insect repellent.

The authorities point out that the virus can only be transmitted by a mosquito.

The outbreak in Wallis and Futuna follows spikes in several Pacific countries and territories.

 

Another two people die of dengue in New Caledonia

Health authorities say a 71-year old man and an 82-year old woman died in hospital in early March after being weakened by the mosquito-borne disease.

According to the public broadcaster, since September almost 1,700 people have been infected with dengue.

A state of epidemic was declared two months ago.

The people most affected by the outbreak are those in the age brackets 15 to 19 and 25 to 29.

Another dengue death in New Caledonia

The mosquito-borne virus is rampant in the French territory with three deaths in the past month.

All the dead are women who had not travelled in the three weeks prior to their deaths and had succumbed within a few days of contracting the virus.

A doctor at the Health and Social Affairs Directorate, Jean-Paul Grangeon, said each day between 10 and 12 people are hospitalised and the peak of the epidemic is yet to be reached.

He says as many as 100,000 people, or nearly 40 percent of the population of New Caledonia could be affected.

WHO says travellers could be spreading dengue in the Pacific

In the Solomon Islands more than 10-thousand dengue fever cases have been confirmed since an outbreak last August, Vanuatu has had more than 1700 since November, and New Caledonia has had more than 1-thousand cases since September.

WHO surveillance officer Viema Biaukula said many of the outbreaks had been identified as dengue serotype 2 which she said was likely being spread by travel.

143 cases of dengue in Fiji

In a statement issued by the Ministry of Health, the Western Division recorded the highest number of cases with 88 people tested positive for dengue fever.

The Northern Division has 30 cases and the Central/Eastern Division has 25 cases.

The ministry is expecting the numbers to increase if members of the public do not strongly adhere to warning and preventative measures put in place by the ministry.