Authorities in Vanuatu report 18 dengue cases at Port Vila Central Hospital since the middle of April, and are asking people to take action to reduce risks for more transmission.
Vila Central Hospital in Vanuatu's capital. Photo: RNZ / Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor
The Vanuatu Ministry of Health has urged residents in Port Vila and surrounding areas to take the necessary steps to prevent infection.
The ministry wants people to wear clothes that cover as much of the body as possible, to use repellents and mosquito nets and other physical barriers such as screens, closed doors and windows.
They also asked people to eliminate opportunities for standing water to collect, which provides places for the the mosquitoes breed - such as open drains, blocked manholes and old tyres left outside.
Community leaders, including from churches and schools, have been asked to mobilise groups to clean up around homes, communities and public areas to try to stop transmission.
Tyres like these can be a dengue hazard as they pool water and provide a breeding space for mosquitoes Photo: 123RF
Dengue is a transmitted by mosquitoes from the Aedes genus, which can transmit zika virus, chikungunya and yellow fever disease.
Aedes mosquitoes are found in most tropical countries, including Vanuatu.
This is the mosquito that was targeted in the Wolbachia World Mosquito Program in Port Vila, using the Wolbachia bacteria to infect mosquitoes, making them infertile.
Recent testing of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes across Port Vila has showed that Wolbachia is now common in them, which meant there was a reduced the species would transmit dengue.
Therefore, the Ministry of Health said it was possible a different mosquito species, Aedes albapictus, was involved in dengue transmission. This species has been responsible for large dengue outbreaks elsewhere in the Pacific.
Aedes mosquitoes often inhabit urban areas. They bite people during the daytime and are usually more active in the early morning or late afternoon.
As early as four days after being bitten by an infected mosquito, infected patients can start to transmit the dengue virus to other mosquitoes that in turn bite other people.
