Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020

Dengue in Samoa

Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea

I haven't heard any more about the dengue outbreak in New Caledonia, but now it looks like Samoa is having the same problem:

See here

...and Kiribati as well. I came back home from Kiribati with Dengue in mid June.

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It is all around in the region as mentioned in the report that the OP linked to. I know it at least from Fiji and Tonga. The other countries only do not issue early warnings as Samoa did. Six confirmed cases in Samoa in six weeks are not that much (yet). Myself I do not know of a single case around here in Apia so far but we did not have Dengue for some years so it might be time for it again.

For those who do not know Dengue:
At least the strains which are common in the Pacific usually do not cause that much trouble. It is like a real flu, lasting a few days, but not more. And like with a real Influenza, little children, old people and people weakened by other conditions already should go to a hospital. When you get Dengue, just rest, drink a lot of water or juices, take some Panadol (Paracetamol). Most important is to allow enough time to recover - at least a whole week! That is crucial. If you don't have enough rest afterwards the fever might come back and that time it can really be dangerous then.

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My husband came down with dengue about a year ago in American Samoa. He was very sick but avoided going to the hospital. He finally drove himself down there when he started having a hard time seeing and breathing. Apparently the fever was so bad his lungs were collapsing and he wouldn't have made it through the night if he hadn't sought help. I was off island at the time.

The doctors could do nothing more than put him in an ice-cold bath to bring the fever down, though. Just watch the fever and get a lot of rest...

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Do you miss American Samoa yet? Can't believe it's been almost 6 years since our last visit.
Chet (KVZK 1965-1971)

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