Community
28 December, 2024
Dengue fever warning
OVERSEAS travellers are being urged to take precautions against mosquito bites, following a spike in imported dengue fever cases in the Far North.
Tropical Public Health Services Cairns has confirmed five cases of dengue fever in the region within the past fortnight, all brought in from people travelling from Bali.
The Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service region has been relatively dengue fever-free since 2018, due to the success of the World Mosquito Program, which released mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria into the wild starting in 2011.
The bacteria prevents Aedes aegypti mosquitoes from transmitting the dengue virus to humans.
The public health program has been rolled out to several other nations, however TPHS director Dr Jacqui Murdoch, said dengue fever could still be imported from areas where Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes were not widespread. such as Indonesia.
She advised wearing light-coloured, long-sleeved clothing to minimise skin exposure to mosquitoes and using an appropriate mosquito repellent containing DEET or picaridin.
For more information and tips visit https://bit.ly/41h3GUs
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