A dengue fever outbreak was declared on Feb. 1 in the town of Innisfail in Far North Queensland, Australia after a resident was confirmed with a locally acquired case, according to Queensland Health.
The dengue type has yet to be identified.
This follows dengue outbreak declarations in Boigu Island in early January where six cases of dengue type 1 (DENV-1) were confirmed and a dengue type 3 (DENV-3) case reported in the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service region in mid-December.
Queensland Health says outbreaks are closed 3 months after the onset date of the last confirmed case.
In more recent years dengue outbreaks have been confined to northern Queensland. Over the past 10 years large outbreaks have occurred in the Torres Strait, Cairns, Mossman, Innisfail, Tully, Townsville and Charters Towers.
Dengue outbreaks occur annually in north Queensland and residents need to be vigilant to ensure dengue mosquitoes are not breeding on their property.
Dengue infects nearly 400 million people across more than 120 countries each year. Most survive with few or no symptoms, but more than two million annually develop what can be a dangerous dengue hemorrhagic fever, which kills more than 25,000 people each year.
Dengue can cause a high fever, severe headaches, severe pain behind the eyes, rash and joint, muscle or bone pain. Dengue hemorrhagic fever occurs when blood leaks from blood vessels into other parts of the body, which can lead to failure of the circulatory system, shock and possibly death, without prompt treatment.
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