Vanuatu’s Ministry of Health has confirmed that 25 out of a suspected 86 cases have been tested positive for dengue since the eighth of February.
A statement from the ministry said 29 patients have been hospitalised at the Northern Provincial Hospital whilst 57 cases are being managed at home.
All suspected dengue cases are reported from the Northern Provincial Hospital.
The Ministry of Health, through the national and provincial disease surveillance system, is currently monitoring the situation in Luganville, Santo as well as in other provinces and islands
No suspected or confirmed cases have been reported from other provinces or islands.
Blood samples have been collected from the patients and will be sent for further testing to Institute Pasteur in New Caledonia (IPNC).
Dengue is a viral infection that is transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, which is the same type of mosquito that spreads Zika virus, Chikungunya and Yellow fever. In most cases, dengue is spread through the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito that are found in most tropical countries, including Vanuatu.
The Aedes mosquito is a daytime biting mosquito that lives in urban settings and breeds in standing water found in containers around the household, such as coconut shells, old tyres, drums, buckets, water tanks, pot plant trays and rubbish.
Patients who are infected with the dengue virus can transmit the infection for 4-5 days, with a maximum of 12 days after symptoms first appear.
Dengue is suspected when patients have fever for at least 2 days plus at least 2 of the following symptoms of:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Muscle or joint pain
- Severe headache
- Pain behind the eyes
- Rash
Symptoms usually last for 2-7 days after an incubation period of 4-10 days after the bite from an infected mosquito. As there is no specific treatment for dengue, anyone that has dengue should rest and drink plenty of fluids. You can take medicines such as Paracetamol (Panadol) to treat pain and fever. Do NOT take aspirin or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (Advil), as they increase the risk of bleeding
Severe dengue is suspected if you have one or more of the following warning signs:
- Intense stomach pain
- Repeated vomiting
- Bleeding from the nose or gums
Severe dengue cases should be admitted to hospital without delay, as it may cause death.
Prevention
The Director General of Health would like to emphasise the importance of personal and household protection as the best ways of preventing and reducing dengue transmission.
Personal protection
The best way for people to prevent getting infected with Dengue is to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes. The most effective personal protection measures include;
- Wearing clothes (preferably light-coloured) that cover as much of the body as possible, especially feet and legs
- Using insect repellent
- Using physical barriers such as screens, closed doors and windows
- Sleeping under mosquito nets when sleeping during the day or a dawn and dusk, when Aedes mosquitoes are most active
Anyone who suspects that they have symptoms of dengue infection should visit their nearest healthcare facility immediately for accurate testing and follow up.
As Vanuatu is still in the wet season, church, school and community leaders are being urged to mobilise their groups to clean up around their homes, community and public areas to prevent and reduce dengue virus transmission.
Community awareness sessions will be conducted in affected areas to sensitize the population about dengue and personal and household prevention and protection measures: individuals and community groups should clean around their household and public areas to reduce mosquito breeding sites (containers around the house) in order to decrease dengue transmission.