Samoa's health officials are ramping up fumigation efforts in the fight against dengue fever, which has affected thousands of people.
Samoa's health officials are ramping up fumigation efforts in the fight against dengue fever, which has affected thousands of people.
New Zealand is due to send help to Samoa, as the country grapples with a dengue fever outbreak that is starting to put a strain on the nation’s hospital resources.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it is set to provide some assistance after a call for helpfrom Samoan officials.
“New Zealand is saddened by the recent deaths from dengue and the surge in cases in the Pacific region,” a spokeswoman said.
“We are currently working with Samoan authorities on how best to assist the Government of Samoa, which has requested support from development partners.
Other countries that have declared a dengue fever outbreak in the past few months are Tonga, the Cook Islands and Fiji.
Dengue fever, also known as break-bone fever, is a viral infection that spreads from mosquitoes to people and causes symptoms that include sudden high fever, intensely sore joints and muscles, pain behind the eyes and a rash.
Fumigation efforts have been under way in Samoa this week as it deals with a dengue fever outbreak. Photo / Govt of Samoa
The official death toll in Samoa stands at four, with a fifth death – a 2-year-old boy who died over the weekend – being deemed as a probable dengue-related death at this stage.
Their deaths follow that of a 5-year-old girl, whose death was declared by local health authorities on Monday last week.
The first death reported in Samoa was 12-year-old Misiafa Lene, who contracted the disease in April and died a week later, despite his family’s efforts to medically evacuate him to Starship children’s hospital in Auckland.
Speaking to the Heraldat the time, his parents described the nightmare they were living.
“The pain is beyond anything. We don’t want another family to go through what we are going through.”
As of Sunday, a total of 5670 clinically diagnosed cases of dengue have been recorded since January. Of those, just over 2600 are laboratory-confirmed cases, according to the Samoan Government’s latest figures.
Last week, 1446 new clinically diagnosed cases were reported across Upolu and Savai’i – Samoa’s two main islands – and included 342 new lab-confirmed cases.
Samoa has shut down all schools as fumigation programmes start in the country's fight against dengue fever. Photo / Govt of Samoa
Samoa’s main hospital, near Apia, has had to make changes to its day-to-day operations to keep up with the surging cases of dengue fever among the community.
Those changes include revised operating hours for general outpatients, with only patients with dengue-like symptoms being attended to from 6pm until morning.
People with mild dengue-like symptoms, including fever, headache and joint pain without warning signs, are encouraged to stay home and manage symptoms with adequate hydration and paracetamol.
MFAT said it had not been approached for assistance by any New Zealanders in Samoa.
However, people due to travel to Samoa, particularly those with children, are being urged to heed safety messages.
People are advised to pack insect repellent, protective clothing and use mosquito nets when sleeping – especially for children, the elderly and pregnant women.
An influx of Samoan community members from overseas, particularly from New Zealand and Australia, is set to head to Samoa over the next few weeks before the country’s general elections this month.
Although the majority of the dengue fever cases and all of the dengue-related deaths have been children, elderly members of the public are also vulnerable to the mosquito-borne viral illness.
“Travellers to Samoa should always take precautions to protect themselves from mosquito bites,” MFAT authorities say.
Travellers to Samoa are also being encouraged to take out comprehensive travel insurance that includes medical evacuation in case of an emergency. People should also register their details on MFAT’s SafeTravel site.
Vaimoana Mase is the Pasifika editor for the Herald’s Talanoa section, sharing stories from the Pacific community. She won junior reporter of the year at the then Qantas Media Awards in 2010 and won the best opinion writing award at the 2023 Voyager Media Awards.
