Dengue cases climb to 33 [1]
Thursday, February 1, 2018 - 18:08
A national campaign to control the spread of dengue started today as the number of people who have caught the disease climbed to 33 as of this afternoon, 1 February. There is also concern at the start of the school year that dengue can spread rapidly.
The virus is spread by mosquitoes that are most active early in the morning and before dusk. Symptoms of the illness appear 4-10 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. There has been one death last week.
Dengue fever is a severe flu-like illness, and causes high fevers, 40°C/104°F along with two other symptoms such as severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pains, nausea, vomiting, swollen glands or rash. The symptoms last for around 2 – 7 days.
Ministry of Health’s Dr Reynold 'Ofanoa confirmed with Matangi Tonga that there are two teams undertaking the national clean up.
“One team started cleaning out at Pea, and the other at Ha’atafu. We are aiming to raise awareness in the villages to pick up rubbish, especially large items such as old refrigerators, discarded vehicles, etc.”
He said the national cleanup campaign may last up to two months or longer depending on how long the disease remains in Tonga.
When dengue cases are confirmed, Dr ‘Ofanoa said that inspectors go out to visit a patient’s home where they help clear rubbish such as containers with water or spray the area and give them further advice to stop the disease spreading.
“People with dengue are also given bed nets and insect repellents.”
He added that schools also need attention since students are back this week. However the Ministry is in the process of waiting for funding to be able to conduct clean ups, including spraying school areas as soon as possible.
Dengue mosquito
According to the World Health Organisation [2] (WHO), the dengue virus is spread by female mosquitoes mainly of the Aedes aegypti species, and to a lesser extent, Ae. Albopictus. This same type of mosquito also spreads chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika.
The Ae. aegypti mosquito feeds during the day-time with peak biting periods early in the morning and before dusk in the evening. The mosquito bites multiple people during each feeding period and lives in urban habitats, mainly breeding in man-made containers.
The virus has 4 distinct, but closely related serotypes that cause dengue; DEN-1. DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4). Recovering from one serotype provides lifelong immunity from that particular one, and cross-immunity to the other serotypes is only temporary and partial. A person can be at risk of developing severe dengue if infected by the other serotypes.
Infected humans serve as a source of the virus for uninfected mosquitoes.