ReliefWeb

This bulletin is being issued for information only and reflects the current situation and details available at this time. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is not seeking funding or other assistance from donors for this operation

The Situation

The IFRC’s recently launched advocacy campaign ‘Dengue: Turning up the volume on a silent disaster’ is very timely for the Pacific, where a number of countries have been experiencing increased dengue activity or outbreaks.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the current dengue situation in the Pacific is due to the re-emergence of the dengue virus serotype 3 after nearly 20 years, to which a large proportion of the population in the Pacific is likely to be susceptible. Dengue serotype 3 outbreaks have been occurring in Kiribati, French Polynesia and New Caledonia since the end of 2013. Currently, the number of dengue cases being reported in these countries is decreasing or low and WHO is continuing to monitor the situation closely. The number of new cases in Vanuatu has plateaued and as of 25 March there were a total of 1,440 cases and two reported deaths.

The outbreak of dengue in Fiji has resulted in 20,000 clinically suspected cases being reported and 13 deaths confirmed since December 2013, according to WHO. The Ministry of Health in Fiji has issued a FJD $3.3 million (CHF 1.62 million) National Dengue Action Plan with focus on strengthening dengue surveillance, dengue clinical management, dengue laboratory reporting and management, strengthening the public health response, coordination and logistics for the outbreak, and improving communications. The Fijian government organised a massive four-week national clean-up campaign which took place in March and is encouraging communities and businesses to continue with the practice regularly after the campaign.

The number of new cases appears to be decreasing since the end of March, due to prevailing cooler weather, a decreasing proportion of the population susceptible to the dengue virus, and active vector control measures taken such as the national clean-up campaign.

In the Solomon Islands as of 7 April 2014, WHO reported a modest increase in dengue cases with more than 50 suspected cases since last November. The National Dengue Taskforce has been activated and surveillance and public health measures have been strengthened.