Dengue fever historically would appear in intervals of three to five years, but today this is no longer true. The pattern is erratic and we must be ready, we must be proactive about it, says the Minister for Health and Medical Services, Jone Usamate.

He said this during the launch of the National Clean-up Campaign at the Valelevu Multi-Purpose Court in Nasinu yesterday to prevent the spread of dengue.

“About this time in 2013, Fiji was hit by one of the worst dengue outbreaks ever. It lasted over six months, but we were able bring it under control through the co-ordinated efforts of government ministries, communities, corporate bodies and our donor partners,” he said.

Mr Usamate said dengue had become a public health threat throughout the year.

In the outbreak of October 2013 until last March, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services recorded over 10,000 cases and 11 deaths.

“Sadly cases continued to be recorded throughout 2014 from all the divisions until the end of the outbreak. For this year, 979 cases have been recorded. That shows that the dengue pattern has changed.”

He said the co-ordinated efforts were a significant achievement because some neighbouring countries were still battling the epidemics of dengue fever and other mosquito-borne diseases, like Chikungunya and Zika virus.

“This is why it is so important to have such clean-up campaigns. It is far more cost effective to have a clean up to prevent dengue outbreaks than having to meet the cost of the outbreak itself,” Mr Usamate said.

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