News

Decline recorded in dengue fever cases

May 15, 2014 7:15 pm

There has been a decline in the number of dengue cases since the end of March.

National Advisor on Communicable Diseases Dr. Mike Kama says this is due to cooler weather, better control measures and a fewer people being susceptible to the dengue virus.

“We saw 50 cases per week in April. Just recently in the last two weeks of May we have been registering about 20 cases per day.”

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So far, over 25,300 clinically suspected dengue cases have been reported.

Dr Kama says the dengue outbreak was recognized early December 2013 with case reported in all the sub-divisions.

“We see the epidemic moving away from the original epicenter – Suva. It is moving to the West. It’s now seen in the west and basically taking off in the North. The good thing about that is that there is a lot of lessons leant and these lessons have been shared with the divisions.”

The Ministry is re-emphasizing the importance of keeping the environment clean to prevent dengue.

The death toll from dengue has increased by two taking it to a total of fifteen deaths since last December.

The final death toll will be confirmed once the ministry receives results of other samples sent overseas for testing.