COOKS WARNING: NZ radio, TV highlight dengue outbreak here

Warnings about dengue fever in the Cook Islands have been broadcast on two of New Zealand’s leading news outlets.
Newstalk ZB and TV3 both this past week carried a warning issued by the Auckland Regional Public Health Service. This will be worrying for the tourism industry here, with New Zealand its main source of visitors.
The Auckland Regional Public Health Service said there has been a significant increase in the number of reported cases of dengue fever in travellers since the beginning of the year.
It has had 29 notifications this year with 19 of these having travelled from the Cook Islands and a small number from other Pacific Islands, it said.
Dr Sheryl Jury, a Public Health Medicine Specialist, said the outbreak in the Cook Islands was first noticed in mid 2006. It had mostly affected the main island of Rarotonga.
CONTROL
“Local authorities in the affected countries undertake control programmes to limit the spread of disease but there are also steps that visitors and tourists can take,” she said.
Dengue fever is spread by daytime feeding mosquitoes and there is currently no vaccine available.
The Auckland Regional Public Health Service said travellers can reduce the risk of acquiring dengue by:
n staying, when possible, in accommodation that has screens on doors and windows or is air-conditioned,
n and wearing clothing that adequately covers the arms and legs, and applying insect repellent to both skin and clothing. The most effective repellents are those containing diethyl toluamide (DEET).
Dengue fever is a serious viral disease spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes. It is found in tropical regions worldwide and regular outbreaks occur in various parts of the Pacific.
Mosquitoes in New Zealand do not carry the dengue virus.
As the disease is not transmitted from person to person, travellers are only at risk when they go to countries where dengue is a problem, the Auckland Regional Public Health Service said.
FEVER
Dengue fever is characterised by the sudden onset of a high fever and an intense headache.
Symptoms may also include a skin rash and muscle and joint pain.
After being bitten by an infected mosquito, symptoms usually occur from four to six days later but can take anywhere from three to 14 days to appear.
The severity of symptoms varies between individuals and the type of symptoms experienced will often depend on the age of the infected person.
The illness is usually of short duration but recovery may be prolonged.
A repeated infection with a dengue virus of a different type may cause a severe, even fatal, illness with bleeding requiring hospitalisation.

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