dengue fever

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dr. Annie Fuavai said of 13 confirmed cases of dengue seen at the LBJ Hospital, 8 patients needed to be admitted.

RNZ reports inspection teams are conducting a walk through of families' yards and pinpointing what can be done to minimise the threat from mosquitoes.

There will also be a focus on clean up efforts around schools.

From August 3rd to the 9th the number of dengue cases jumped from 238 to 284.

The number of dengue fever patients who have been admitted went from 75 to 89. The number of deaths remains at four.

The Department of Health says residents should continue to clean their surroundings, get rid of sites mosquitoes can breed such as containers that hold water, and to protect themselves by wearing protective clothing and using spray with Deet.