February 12, 2021
Aimed at halting the current dengue outbreak on Rarotonga, Operation Namu21 continues this week, with health ministry Te Marae Ora leading and coordinating a government-wide, multi-ministry approach to stopping the spread of the mosquito-borne virus
Operation Namu 2021 (a mass-clean up programme) will be launched on Rarotonga from 12 February to eliminate mosquito breeding sites.
The government is urging the public to help reduce the number of mosquitos in the wake of confirmation of 8 Dengue cases.
The dengue outbreak in the Cook Islands is now officially over. There have been no confirmed cases reported since early September, with only two probable cases reported in the six weeks from mid-September to the end of October.
A 400 metre radius of cleared vegetation around homes is required to reduce breeding sites for mosquitoes. We need our communities to be on alert and take practical measures to reduce spread of dengue fever.
Since declaring DENV-1 in Rarotonga earlier this year, dengue notifications to the Ministry of Health now total 24 cases (18 confirmed, six probable) with half being female.
The Ministry of Health has declared a dengue outbreak following the confirmation of seven dengue cases in Rarotonga in the past month. Of these cases, one was a visitor from French Polynesia with dengue serotype 3 (DENV-3), while others were dengue serotype 1 (DENV-1).
Four cases of dengue have been recently confirmed in Rarotonga. This follows the diagnosis of dengue three weeks ago in a visitor who arrived from French Polynesia.
