Wellington, Aug 6 (IANS) New Zealand has pledged support to Samoa amid a severe dengue outbreak that has so far claimed the lives of five Samoan children.

Acknowledging the close ties between the two nations, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said on Wednesday that the New Zealand government will dispatch a small team to Apia, the Samoan capital, to provide clinical assistance and work with Samoan authorities on further medical support requirements.

Additionally, New Zealand will provide 300,000 NZ dollars ($177,978) worth of medical supplies to aid the response efforts, Peters said.

Senior New Zealand public health officials are also engaging with their Samoan counterparts to coordinate assistance.

Travelers to Samoa are advised to take precautions against mosquito bites and follow dengue prevention guidelines provided by New Zealand’s SafeTravel advisory, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Samoan Ministry of Health had declared a dengue fever outbreak in April.

Dengue is a viral infection that spreads from mosquitoes to people. It is more common in tropical and subtropical climates.

Most people who get dengue will not have symptoms. But for those who do, the most common symptoms are high fever, headache, body aches, nausea, and rash. While most will get better in 1–2 weeks, some people develop severe dengue and need care in a hospital.

In severe cases, dengue can be fatal.

You can lower your risk of dengue by avoiding mosquito bites, especially during the day.

Dengue is treated with pain medicine as there is no specific treatment currently.

The incidence of dengue has grown dramatically around the world in recent decades, with cases reported to the WHO increasing from 505,430 cases in 2000 to 5.2 million in 2019. A vast majority of cases are asymptomatic or mild and self-managed, and hence, the actual numbers of dengue cases are under-reported. Many cases are also misdiagnosed as other febrile illnesses.

–IANS

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