News

More dengue fever cases expected in the North

January 6, 2018 7:19 pm

Residents in the North are advised to take the dengue fever outbreak seriously as more cases continue to be reported.

Health Minister Rosy Akbar visited the North this week to meet with health and local government stakeholders and discuss ways on controlling the outbreak.

A total of eight hundred and seventy three cases of dengue fever was recorded from the North last year.

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In December alone, 350 cases were received while the first week this month saw fifteen cases being treated at the dengue fever hub in Labasa.

Health Minister Rosy Akbar says the numbers are expected to grow.

“We have a dengue outbreak and we’ve also had cases of typhoid which is not uncommon and what we were concerned about was the rise in dengue cases in the North. So the team updated us on the fact that dengue was confined to the town boundaries.”

Akbar adds the Health Ministry is intensifying its effort to ensure proactive measures are taken to destroy mosquito breeding places with the assistance from the public.

“The response outbreak team is at the ground led by the Divisional Medical Officer North and they’re trying to reach the villagers that have been affected and those that haven’t been affected in trying to carry out community awareness because we believe that we need to actively involve families and communities to ensure the breeding grounds of this dengue carrying mosquitoes are destroyed.”

Acting National Advisor for Communicable Diseases, Dr Aalisha Sahukhan has also confirmed to FBC News that despite a dengue fever outbreak, there has been no reports yet of Zika virus and Chikungunya.

The public is advised to seek medical assistance if any symptoms of dengue fever arises.

The symptoms consist of fever with joint or muscle pain, headache, pain behind the eyes, loss of appetite, rash, and nausea or vomiting.

The Ministry says that the signs of a life-threatening complication of dengue fever, include severe abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, fast breathing, unexplained bruising, bleeding gums, fatigue, restlessness and blood in vomit.