The Ministry of Health would like to update the public on the current dengue outbreak situation in Port Vila. From 4th February 2022, two dengue cases were confirmed at Vila Central Hospital. These cases had no recent history of travel outside of Vanuatu so the dengue was locally acquired and were identified in the areas of Efate’s peri- urban areas of Erakor and Salili. No suspected or confirmed cases have been reported in other provinces or islands.
Dengue transmission and symptoms
Dengue is a viral infection that is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, which can also transmit Zika virus, Chikungunya and Yellow fever diseases. In most cases, dengue is spread through the bite of the mosquito species Aedes aegypti, which is found in most tropical countries, including Vanuatu. This is the mosquito that was targeted for the Wolbachia World Mosquito Program in Port Vila. Recent testing of mosquitoes from across Port Vila shows that Wolbachia is now common in most Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which means they are less likely to transmit dengue. Therefore, it is possible that another species called Aedes albopictus is involved in dengue transmission. This species has been responsible for large dengue outbreaks elsewhere in the Pacific, such as in Honiara in 2016.
Aedes mosquitoes often inhabit urban areas. They bite people during the daytime and are usually more active in the early morning or late afternoon. The larvae live in water and can inhabit a range of sites from artificial containers like tanks, tyres, buckets and rubbish, to natural sites like bamboo stumps, coconuts and tree holes.
As early as 4 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito, infected patients can start to transmit the dengue virus to other mosquitoes that in turn will bite other people. These mosquitoes can bite multiple people, and so the outbreak can spread rapidly.
Dengue symptoms
Symptoms usually develop 4-10 days after the bite from an infected mosquito. Symptoms usually last for 2-7 days.
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
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 immediately, as it may cause death.
The Ministry of Health would like to emphasise the importance of early detection and management of dengue infection. Anyone who suspects that they have symptoms of dengue infection should visit their nearest healthcare facility immediately for accurate testing and follow up. This is the key message which everyone must understand.
Treatment
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.
Prevention
The Director of Public Health would also 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
Emptying, eliminating or covering the water sites that can breed mosquitoes is also an effective method of prevention. If there are no dengue mosquitoes, there will be no dengue transmission.
Dengue control activities in Vanuatu
The National Vector borne diseases control program and Provincial health services are currently monitoring the situation in Efate and other Provinces.
We would like to call upon church, school and community leaders to mobilise their groups to clean up around their homes, community and public areas to prevent and reduce dengue mosquitoes and virus transmission.
Community awareness sessions will be conducted in affected areas in Efate to sensitize the population about dengue and personal and household prevention and protection measures. Individuals and community groups as well as Business Houses around Efate are advised that they should clean around their household and public areas to reduce mosquito potential breeding sites (water holding containers around the house) to decrease dengue transmission.
Updates will be provided as the situation evolves.