Attachments
Highlights/updates since the last map was sent on PacNet on 25 March 2025:
Dengue
- Tonga: As of 31 March 2025, the Ministry of Health reported eleven new dengue cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total confirmed cases to 389 since the declaration of the Outbreak on 19 February 2025, primarily affecting 10-19-year-olds. Eleven patients are currently hospitalised, all reported to be in stable condition, with no death reported so far. Authorities continue case investigations, mosquito control and public awareness efforts, urging residents to eliminate breeding sites, use protective measures, and seek medical attention for severe symptoms. The serotype that is responsible for this current outbreak is Dengue Virus Type 2 (DENV-2) identified by the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIDRL), Melbourne Australia. The red alert for DENV-2 is maintained. – Source: Dengue Fever Outbreak, Situation report #38 (31 March 2025) shared on PacNet on 31 March 2025.
- French Polynesia: In EpiWeek 12, 66 new cases (63 confirmed and 3 probable) were reported. Since November 27, 2023, a total of 1,444 cases have been recorded, including 1,312 confirmed and 132 probable cases. Six new hospitalisations were reported in EpiWeek 12. While the positivity rate has decreased since EpiWeek 10, the hospitalisation rate has increased over the same period. The blue alert for DENV-1 is maintained. – Source: Bulletin de surveillance sanitaire de Polynésie française n°11 - 2025 shared with PPHSN Coordinating Body focal point on 01 April 2025.
Influenza
- French Polynesia: In EpiWeek 11, 13 new influenza cases (09 type A, 04 type B) were reported. Among these cases, there were four hospitalisations reported. Since EpiWeek 03, 459 influenza cases were reported (94% type A and 0.6% type B), with a total of 141 hospitalisations and ten deaths. All indicators have been decreasing since EpiWeek 8. The blue alert for influenza A is maintained. – Source: Bulletin de surveillance sanitaire de Polynésie française n°11 - 2025 shared with PPHSN Coordinating Body focal point on 01 April 2025.
Pertussis / Whooping cough
- French Polynesia: Since June 14, 2024, a total of 689 confirmed cases of pertussis have been reported. Pertussis activity decreased in EpiWeek 12, with positivity rates showing an overall downward trend. A total of 23 hospitalisations have been reported since June 14, 2024, and one death was recorded in EpiWeek 46 of 2024 in an infant. Since the last report, one additional case has been reported. The blue alert is maintained. Source: Bulletin de surveillance sanitaire de Polynésie française n°11 - 2025 shared with PPHSN Coordinating Body focal point on 01 April 2025.
- New Caledonia: As of 31 March 2025, 215 cases of pertussis have been reported since April 2024, out of 1,440 samples tested. In 2025, 44 new cases have been reported with 32 cases recorded in January, ten cases in February and two cases reported in this current month. The most recent case was reported on 08 March 2025*.* The blue alert is maintained. – Source : Coqueluche | Direction des Affaires Sanitaires et Sociales de Nouvelle-Calédonie accessed on 01 April 2025.
- New Zealand: As of week ending on 21st March, weekly pertussis cases in New Zealand decreased to 36 from 63 in week ending on 14 March, bringing the total reported cases since the beginning of 2025 to 985. According to the latest report from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), 231 pertussis cases (162 confirmed and 69 probable) were reported between 22 February and 21 March 2025, compared to 410 cases in the preceding four weeks. The number of hospitalisations is also significantly lower compared to the prior four-week period (15 hospitalisations in this reporting period). No deaths were reported. Since the start of the national epidemic on 19 October 2024, 2,075 confirmed, probable and suspect cases have been notified. Of these, 175 cases (9.0%) have required hospitalisation with one reported death, with 84 (53.2%) of the 160 cases in infants under 1 year hospitalised. The blue alert is maintained. – Sources: Pertussis dashboard and Pertussis report 22 February–21 March 2025 accessed on 01 April 2025.
Other Information:
Influenza
- Niue: As of 26 March 2025, an Influenza A outbreak has been officially declared by the Chief Medical Officer at Niue Foou Hospital. The public has been urged to take COVID-like precautions, including minimising gatherings, wearing masks (especially at the hospital), practising hand hygiene, and maintaining physical distance. - Source: (8) 🚨 INFLUENZA A OUTBREAK DECLARED IN... - Niue Public Health Division | Facebook accessed on 01 April 2025.
Leptospirosis
- New Caledonia: As of 23 March 2025, a total of 57 leptospirosis cases have been reported in New Caledonia since the beginning of the year, with six cases in January, 34 in February, and 17 recorded so far in March. The most recent case was reported on 23 March 2025. In its latest monthly update shared on 14 March, the Department of Health and Social Affairs of New Caledonia linked the increase to a higher proportion of severe cases, primarily due to delayed diagnosis and treatment. Most cases were in men living in rural areas with frequent exposure to freshwater following heavy rainfall. Health authorities stress the need for early recognition and prompt antibiotic treatment to prevent severe outcomes. - Source: La leptospirose | Direction des Affaires Sanitaires et Sociales de Nouvelle-Calédonie accessed on 01 April 2025 & Le point Epidemiologique (14 mars 2025) shared to PPHSN Focal Point on 14 March 2025.
Measles
- Situation in Australia, Japan, Vietnam, Canada, and the United States: In Australia, measles activity continues to rise across multiple states. New South Wales confirmed a case linked to travel from Southeast Asia, while Western Australia now has eight cases, including outbreaks at Hakea Prison and Bunbury Regional Hospital, raising concerns of the worst outbreak since 2020. Victoria reported a new interstate case, bringing its 2025 total to 14, and South Australia confirmed its third case of the year in a one-year-old child. In Japan, 32 measles cases have been reported as of March 19, 2025, with a recent spike and nearly half of cases linked to international travel, particularly from Vietnam and Thailand. Vietnam continues to face a major measles outbreak, with nearly 1,900 cases recorded at the National Children’s Hospital alone in Q1 2025, and 13 measles-related deaths since 2024, mostly in unvaccinated children. In Canada, 496 cases (410 confirmed) have been reported nationwide in 2025, including 153 new cases in week 11, with Ontario experiencing its largest outbreak in over a decade. In the United States, 378 measles cases have been reported across 17 states as of March 20, including two deaths, prompting international alerts due to declining vaccination rates and ongoing outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico; According to WHO risk assessment the public health risk in the Region of the Americas for measles is considered high. This evolving situation underscores the importance for Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) to strengthen and sustain high measles vaccination coverage in order to mitigate the risk of importation and local outbreaks. - Source: (8) NSW Health | Facebook, WA Health measles case identified in Hakea Prison, WA Health measles case at Bunbury Regional Hospital, New measles in Victoria | health.vic.gov.au, Measles case in Adelaide | SA Health, Measles Cases in Japan, Ho Chi Minh City: announcing the end of the measles epidemic by commune I Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City, Measles and Rubella Weekly Monitoring Report — Canada.ca, and Measles - United States of America on 01 April 2025.
Yellow Fever
- Americas Region: As of EpiWeek 12 2025, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has reported a total of 131 confirmed yellow fever cases in the Americas, including 53 deaths, resulting in a case fatality rate of 40%. While most cases have historically occurred in the Amazon region, the 2025 outbreak includes confirmed cases in previously unaffected areas such as São Paulo (Brazil) and Tolima (Colombia), raising concern about wider transmission. Nearly all affected individuals were unvaccinated, highlighting the importance of immunization in at-risk populations. Given the presence of competent Aedes mosquito vectors in many Pacific Islands Countries and Territories (PICTs), and increasing travel connectivity with affected regions, there is a credible risk of yellow fever importation and local transmission. Public health authorities in the Pacific are urged to remain vigilant, ensure that travellers to and from affected regions are properly vaccinated, and strengthen surveillance especially for acute febrile jaundice cases. - Source: Epidemiological Alert - Yellow fever in the Americas Region - 26 March 2025 - PAHO/WHO | Pan American Health Organization accessed on 01 April 2025.