Tonga dengue outbreak rises to 73 cases

Dengue Virus Type 2 is responsible for the current outbreak

In a follow-up on the dengue fever outbreak in Tonga, the government now reports 73 total cases. The majority of confirmed cases from Tongatapu (33), the rest from Vava’u (28) and ‘Eua (12).

A total of 5 cases are currently hospitalized (4 Vaiola, 1 Niu’eiki), and all are stable. No dengue-related death reported to date. The age group mostly affected is 10-19 years olds.

Officials have now confirmed that Dengue Virus Type 2 is responsible for the current dengue outbreak in Tonga according to the first batch of samples collected from Tongatapu. The result for the 2nd batch which included samples from Vava’u and ‘Eua is expected to be available later this week.

Dengue is a disease caused by a virus spread through mosquito bites. The disease can take up to 2 weeks to develop with illness generally lasting less than a week.

Symptoms from dengue include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, rash, muscle and joint pain, and minor bleeding.

Dengue can become severe within a few hours. Severe dengue is a medical emergency, usually requiring hospitalization.

In severe cases, health effects can include hemorrhage (uncontrolled bleeding), shock (seriously low blood pressure), organ failure, and death.