Samoa placed on alert as dengue kills three in Fiji

S.P.C has recently repeatedly publicly voiced its concerns about the unprecedented and increasing pressure the whole Pacifi c Islands region is currently suffering from mosquitoborne diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and zika virus infections

Health officials in Samoa have been put on alert as Fiji is grappling with its worst outbreak of dengue fever in 16 years. Yesterday, officials in Fiji said there have been 2,589 confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne virus since the outbreak began in November. Three people have died since the outbreak started in November last year.

A source at the Ministry of Health at Moto’otua told the Sunday Samoan that the National Surveillance team was advised last year to “pursue the necessary processes for local prevention.”

Meanwhile, in Fiji, authorities have been spraying insecticide across the country to try and eradicate mosquito breeding areas and have started a public health campaign to remind people to clean out water containers, said government spokeswoman Sharon Smith Johns.

She said most cases have been reported near the capital, Suva, and in inland areas. There have been no outbreaks around the major resorts on the island of Denarau and the Coral Coast, she added.

Fiji’s economy relies heavily on tourists visiting its idyllic beaches. Britain’s government last week noted the outbreak on its travel advisory website.

Dengue fever is a viral infection that causes flu-like symptoms, and sufferers can occasionally develop fatal complications. Treatment usually involves rest and rehydration, with those badly affected sometimes put on an intravenous drip. Smith Johns said the weather in Fiji has been very warm with little rain, providing ideal conditions for mosquitoes to breed.

“The hospitals have been very busy, all the doctors have had their leave cancelled,” she said. Fiji’s last major outbreak of dengue fever was in 1998, when more than 8,000 people contracted the disease, she said. The country has been working with international health agencies to try and stanch the latest outbreak, she said. Meanwhile, nearby New Caledonia has reported an outbreak of a closely related disease, Zika fever. A U.S. travel advisory says 64 cases have been confirmed in the French territory.

Yesterday, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (S.P.C) issued a statement to say it has made a contribution to Fiji’s Ministry of Health for the purchase of insecticides to carry out mosquito control interventions for the next three months.

This contribution comes in response to Honourable Minister for Health Neil Sharma’s recent call for assistance from development partners to help Fiji respond to the current dengue outbreak.

“This financial support from S.P.C is an unusual response related to the specific nature of the worsening dengue epidemic in Fiji and the type of request that was placed to us by Fiji Ministry of Health,” said Dr. Yvan Souarès, Deputy Director of S.P.C’s Public Health Division.

“We are not a donor agency. Our role is to deliver capacity-building activities and scientific and/or expert advice to our 22 Pacific Island members.”

In addition to this contribution, experts from S.P.C’s Public Health Division will continue to provide technical assistance and advice to Fiji Ministry of Health in response to this outbreak in collaboration with their partners from the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. S.P.C has recently repeatedly publicly voiced its concerns about the unprecedented and increasing pressure the whole Pacific Islands region is currently suffering from mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and zika virus infections.