Dengue fever outbreak: Samoan family lose second son to mosquito-borne illness

Fumigation efforts have been under way as Samoa deals with a dengue fever outbreak. Photo / Govt of Samoa

A 2-year-old boy is the latest victim of the dengue fever outbreak in Samoa.

The child died three days after his older brother, 9, also succumbed to the same disease last week.

In a post shared to social media, the boys’ aunty shared one word: “Aisea?” – Why?

She also shared a recent photo of her smiling nephews, pictured with their young parents at a family restaurant.

It is understood their father has been working overseas and is heading home to be with his wife. The two boys are their only children.

The post has been widely shared among the Samoan community in the islands and overseas.

Rising death toll: 5

The Asian tiger mosquito is one of the vectors responsible for transmitting dengue fever. Photo / Science Photo Library

Samoa’s dengue fever death toll now officially stands at four – with the fifth death being deemed a probable case of dengue fever at this stage, authorities say. All have been children.

Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa yesterday spoke of the nation’s heartbreak at losing yet another child to dengue.

“On behalf of the Government and the people of Samoa, I extend our deepest condolences to the parents and families of the children we have lost,” he said.

“Our children are dear to us, and the loss of a young soul is utterly sorrowful. May the Holy Spirit comfort parents and families of the children we have lost. We remember you in these sorrowful times.”

Also known as break-bone fever, dengue fever is a viral infection that spreads from mosquitoes to people. Symptoms include sudden high fever, intensely sore joints and muscles, pain behind the eyes and a rash.

Fumigation efforts have been carried out nationwide and schools have remained shut as a result of the outbreak.

Samoa's health officials are ramping up fumigation efforts in the fight against dengue fever.

As of Sunday, 5670 clinically diagnosed cases had been recorded since January, with just over 2600 of those identified as laboratory-confirmed cases.

In the past week, 1446 new clinically diagnosed cases have been reported across Samoa’s main islands of Upolu and Savai’i, including 342 new lab-confirmed cases.

New Zealand health authorities have also reported a spike in dengue fever cases since the start of the year, with 34 confirmed incidents reported in Auckland last month in people coming back into the country.

About half of those cases were acquired in Samoa, said National Public Health Service national clinical director Dr Susan Jack.

The latest figures show 103 cases of dengue fever recorded in Auckland since January. That figure is double the number of cases recorded for all of last year when 54 cases were recorded.

Fiame also called on parents and families to follow the official advice of health authorities and not to resort to traditional healing practices for dengue fever.

“For parents and guardians, please seek immediate medical assistance if your child develops dengue fever symptoms.

“Do not wait until it is too late. Early treatment can save lives.”

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.