Tragically, to date, there have been four confirmed and one probable dengue-related death, highlighting the urgent fight still ahead.<\/p>\n
This effort comes as the Pacific faces a severe surge in cases, <\/a>with deaths now reported in Fiji, Tonga, and Nauru. Affected countries also include American Samoa, Cook Islands, Tahiti, Kiribati and Tuvalu.<\/p>\n So what is dengue fever? And why is this outbreak hitting the Pacific so hard?<\/p>\n Dengue fever is a viral disease spread by mosquitoes.<\/p>\n It is transmitted by the infected female Aedes mosquito and causes fever and joint pain<\/a>. Some patients can suffer internal bleeding, which can cause death.<\/p>\n It has long plagued tropical nations, but health experts warn the 2025 outbreak is one of the worst in almost a decade.<\/p>\n This is largely because of:\u00a0<\/p>\n The movement of people between Pacific nations<\/a>Changing weather patterns \u2014 longer, wetter seasons<\/a> linked to climate changeIncreased urban settingsPoor waste disposal practices, stagnant water, and overgrown vegetation The World Health Organization’s Dr Mark Jacobs said the long-term pattern was one of peaks and troughs.<\/p>\n “Across the region, we\u2019ll have some years where we get a big peak in cases and other years it’s very much lower level and a lot of Pacific countries don’t see any cases at all,” he told Pacific Beat.<\/a><\/p>\n “For a lot of Pacific countries, the biggest factor is when somebody who is infected with dengue and then a local mosquito bites them and spreads it. Because the dengue virus is only found in two types of animals: mosquitoes and people.<\/p>\n “You have people with dengue who then infect the mosquito, and then those mosquitoes infect more people. That\u2019s how outbreaks happen.”<\/p>\n What are the symptoms?<\/p>\n Symptoms to watch for include<\/a> fever, extreme fatigue, headache, nausea, vomiting, intense muscle and joint pains, and a distinct measles-like rash.<\/p>\n Dengue cases in the Pacific are at their highest since 2016,<\/a> with nearly 19,000 people affected as of last month’s figures, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says.<\/p>\n There are four dengue viruses.\u00a0<\/p>\n “If you’ve been infected with dengue type one, and once you’ve recovered from that, you’re then protected from getting that type of dengue again. But if one of these other types comes into the countr,y you can be infected with that type of dengue,” Dr Jacobs said.<\/p>\n “It’s people getting dengue more than once that are most at risk of getting severe dengue.”<\/p>\n Globally, the WHO recorded <\/a>more than 13 million dengue cases and 9,990 deaths in 2024.<\/p>\n Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are the primary spreaders of dengue, although another species \u2014 Aedes albopictus (commonly known as the Asian tiger mosquito) \u2014 can also carry the virus.<\/p>\n How can it be stopped?<\/p>\n Prevention measures include:<\/p>\n Eliminating stagnant\/ standing water sources \u2014 like tyres, open buckets, water-holding containers, etcUse mosquito nets and repellentWearing long-sleeved clothingKeep the surrounding areas cleanCommunity spray<\/p>\n \u00a0Samoa has rolled out a large-scale fumigation program in schools.\u00a0(Image: Ministry of Health Samoa)What is causing the current dengue outbreak?\u00a0<\/p>\n
In Fiji, the WHO’s July data shows the spread of the disease has been highest.(Source: Fiji’s Ministry of Health & Medical Services)<\/p>\n
Aedes aegypti is the primary spreader of dengue. Dengue is the most common mosquito-borne disease worldwide.(Supplied: Stephen Doggett, NSW Health Pathology)<\/p>\n