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Two confirmed dengue cases have been reported at the Vila Central Hospital (VCH) and two others at the Northern Provincial Hospital (NPH) in Santo.
In a statement to update the public on the current dengue situation in Vanuatu, the Ministry of Health (MoH) conveyed that the two cases confirmed at VCH had recently traveled to Santo while the two confirmed at NPH had no travel history outside of Santo.
Two samples have been confirmed to be DENV-2 serotype, the same ones detected during the 2016-2017, 2018 and 2019 dengue outbreak, which affected all provinces of Vanuatu.
According to the MoH, if no new dengue serotype is introduced, the current outbreak should not be as important as the one occurred in 2016-2017.
The MoH, through the national vector borne disease control program is monitoring the situation in Luganville as well as other provinces and islands.
Since it’s still the wet season, churches, schools and communities are urged to mobilized and clean up to prevent and reduce dengue virus transmission.
Dengue is a viral infection that is transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, the same type of mosquito that spreads Zika virus, Chikungunya and Yellow fever.
Community awareness sessions will be conducted in areas in Luganville starting today until Friday to sensitize the population about dengue and personal and household prevention and protection measures: followed by a mass clean-up campaign from Saturday to Sunday.
Individuals and community groups as well as business houses around Luganville are advised to clean around homes and public areas to reduce mosquito potential breeding sites.
Anyone that has dengue should rest and drink plenty of fluids as there is no specific treatment for dengue.
Severe dengue cases should be admitted to hospital immediately.
