NZ responds to Solomons dengue fever outbreak

  • Murray McCully
Foreign Affairs

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully today announced New Zealand will send medical staff to the Solomon Islands following an outbreak of dengue fever.

“The outbreak has put considerable strain on the health system – depleting resources and overwhelming staff,” Mr McCully says.

There are almost 1700 suspected cases of dengue fever - 1200 of those in Honiara - and three reported deaths.

“New Zealand will send a doctor and a nurse to support the Solomon Islands Government response to the outbreak,” Mr McCully says.

“The medical staff are from the Ministry of Health and will deploy for an initial period of up to two weeks as part of an Australian-led medical team.”

Dengue fever is a serious viral disease spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes.