DENGUE ERADICATION PROGRAMME COMMENCES

The Public Health Department has embarked on an island-wide spraying campaign on Rarotonga to destroy mosquito breeding grounds and to halt the current spate of dengue cases. Local residents have been urged to ensure their homes and surrounds are clean and free of receptacles that may hold water and provide a breeding ground for the dengue carrying mosquito. Tourist accommodation houses generally have screens to keep mosquitoes out but visitors are still advised to apply insect repellent as they set out for the day’s activities. Dengue Fever is common throughout the tropics but its occurrence can be checked if the day-biting Aedes Aegypti mosquito which carries the virus is prevented from breeding.

Source: Chris Wong, Chief Executive, Cook Islands Tourism Corporation - 20 Feb 07