In a follow-up on the dengue fever outbreak on the Pacific island of Palau, health officials now report 77 total cases since Dec. 1, 2018.

Image/CDC
Image/CDC

Seventy-five percent of the cases (58) are reported from Koror. Airai accounted for another 12 cases.

There have been no deaths attributed to dengue infection during this outbreak.

On Friday, December 7, 2018, the Palau Ministry of Health alerted the public of an outbreak of dengue fever following the first ever laboratory confirmation of two cases with dengue serotype-3. This poses a significant concern for public health as the whole population is potentially vulnerable to infection.

The dengue outbreak response team is continuing efforts to increase community awareness on the dengue outbreak and prevention measures through:

• Weekly radio talk shows at the national radio station

• Dissemination of print material about dengue prevention to the community

• Development of dengue prevention videos for public consumption that target young adults

• Utilizing public forums to spread the prevention message.

The Minister of Health and staff will be touring the 16 states with the President of Palau and other ministries over the course of the next month. The MOH is using this opportunity to stress the prevention and control of the spread of dengue fever.