Aussie Dengue Fever cases on the rise

March 7, 2005

More cases of potentially fatal dengue fever have been discovered on Thursday Island in Torres Strait.

The latest outbreak was identified last week and by today eight cases of the disease had been confirmed.

A Queensland Health spokeswoman said several more patients who had shown early signs of the disease were being tested.

The spokeswoman said efforts were being made to control the outbreak of type-four dengue – which has recently been active in Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea – as quickly as possible, because of the heightened risk to islanders following last year's type-two dengue outbreak.

People who contract two different types of dengue fever have a heightened risk of contracting dengue haemorrhagic fever, which can be fatal.

Last wet season, 278 cases of type-two dengue were reported in the Torres Strait area and one person died from it.

The spokeswoman said health staff from Cairns and Townsville had been flown to Thursday Island to help control the outbreak.

"They are going from house to house to identify and treat breeding sites of the mosquitoes, which carry the disease," she said.

Symptoms of dengue fever include fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, exhaustion and a loss of appetite and residents have been warned to clear away anything that can contain water where mosquitoes can breed and to wear insect repellents.

SOURCE: World News & Prophetic Trends