<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Dengue fever outbreaks in the western Pacific and south-east Asia have prompted travel warnings for Australians, but experts are now saying the problem is likely to only get worse.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Cook Islands </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/cook-islands-dengue-fever-outbreak-travel-advice/4bcdff32-7bdd-4d07-b26a-2c1150e974ca" rel="" target="_blank" title="declared an outbreak"><span>declared an outbreak</span></a><span> of the potentially deadly disease recently, with the Ministry of Health's latest June 6 update saying 19 cases had been recorded, of which two were active.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Cases are also on the rise in other countries including Samoa, Tonga, French Polynesia, Fiji and Kiribati.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/monash-ivf-makes-second-embryo-this-year/1aef0336-4841-48a2-9b6a-324da5065b63" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Aussie IVF giant admits to another embryo bungle</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Deaths have been reported in Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Director of The Pacific Community's public health division, Dr Berlin Kafoa, said the risk of severe dengue was rising.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Severe cases and fatalities are being reported, especially among youth," he said.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/dengue-fever-on-the-rise-in-pacific-countries-why-how-is-it-spreading-should-australians-be-worried/ff11bb75-8090-4e9f-b2e2-645f8fb2eded" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Dengue should not be dismissed as a mild illness, it can be life-threatening."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/china-has-a-valuable-card-to-play-as-it-holds-trade-talks-with-the-us-today/65b87191-b89d-491e-a3df-f4503b42def7" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>China's valuable card that puts Trump in a tough spot</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said an immunisation gap and the expansion of mosquito habitats due to climate change were factors that needed addressing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Dengue is no longer a seasonal or isolated threat in the Pacific; it is a regional health emergency shaped by climate, mobility and historical vulnerabilities," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Immunisation Advisory Centre medical advisor Dr Joan Ingram warned the escalating spread of the disease posed a threat to travellers as well.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/baldonis-complaint-escalated-the-ongoing-legal-battle-stemming-from-the-film-that-baldoni-directed-and-costarred-in-with-lively/b1fd4c8c-9b1c-4882-a0b8-d1c9c57e6d5d" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Judge dismisses $400m defamation suit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Estimates are that around six in 1000 travellers spending a month in a risk area become unwell with dengue, with up to 30 per cent of them being hospitalised," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Travellers also risk bringing the disease to their home country.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>World Mosquito Program (WPM) senior director of field entomology Dr Gregor Devine said current responses to dengue outbreaks, such as insecticides and clean-up campaigns, only had a limited impact.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/los-angeles-protests-us-marines-being-mobilised-sources-say/cff8fb51-fdb3-498d-9c95-e45e179f4c32" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>About 700 Marines being mobilised in response to LA protests</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And effective vaccines, he said, were "years away" from being universally affordable and available, while the trend in dengue cases was tracking "relentlessly upwards".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the not-for-profit WMP, he said, had great success with the Wolbachia treatment, which involves infecting mosquitoes with a bacteria that blocks the transmission of the disease.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Following six years of Wolbachia mosquito releases in New Caledonia, the project has been hailed a </span><a href="https://sciencemediacentre.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fdc5316d8cbd7a248ee94eaeb&amp;id=ecf9a15fed&amp;e=78b715e391" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><span>monumental success,</span></a><span> and the French territory hasn't had a dengue epidemic since 2019," Devine said.</span></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2023/01/25/10/42/deadliest-most-dangerous-animals-on-earth-in-pictures"><img alt="14: Jellyfish" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/M9MqCtDq_rpfpCveqGfX4u2CxvM=/1043x1178:5921x3921/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F1151db6b-4cc3-4bcb-9dc3-77231cf03e4c" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/M9MqCtDq_rpfpCveqGfX4u2CxvM=/1043x1178:5921x3921/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F1151db6b-4cc3-4bcb-9dc3-77231cf03e4c 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/8Kqjnk1KT53YlMfO7vOsEoKb5VU=/1043x1178:5921x3921/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F1151db6b-4cc3-4bcb-9dc3-77231cf03e4c 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">It's the size of a thumbtack and kills with a single touch</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2023/01/25/10/42/deadliest-most-dangerous-animals-on-earth-in-pictures">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This year, releases will continue in Kiribati, and be adopted in Timor-Leste."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Dr Ingram also said the Wolbachia trials showed "promising results", while vaccine research continued.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Australians looking to travel to a Pacific country or other dengue-affected areas such as South-East Asia and South America, are urged to stay up to date on advice from </span><a href="https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/" rel="" target="_blank" title="Smartraveller"><span>Smartraveller</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And find out more about dengue fever at </span><a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/dengue-fever" rel="" target="_blank" title="Health Direct"><span>Health Direct</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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