Dengue on tanna

I suffered through the sign up process on this forum to post a public safety announcement. My girlfriend and i have now been in vanuatu for thrteen days. We flew from vila to tanna two sundays ago, stayed on tanna for one week, flew back to vila on sunday, rented a car to tour the island, stopped in at the beach bar in mele (a great place, the owner is amazing), whereupon my girlfriend had a sudden onset of dengue. Which is typical i guess. It had to have been contracted on tanna. I am posting this to let everyone know that dengue os real, it is a threat and i feel it has been downplayed, but since our reality, we have encountered a ton of peeps who have gotten it or know someone. It is by no means restricted to tanna, thats just where she got it. Clearly i am the lucky one. When she said it feels like her bones are breaking, and she didnt even know that that is its nickname!!

Dengue virus serotype 3 has recently re-emerged in several countries and territories in the South Pacific after nearly 20 years. The number of cases is expected to continue to increase in the coming months in many places including Fiji, French Polynesia and Kiribati, while a large outbreak in Solomon Islands is winding down.

I lived in a dengue region for 2 years, and wasn't infected. It is very much a matter of luck, since even locals in the area would fall victim.

The carrier (I call it a zebra mosquito because of its' while and black stripes) is a nasty little creature because (i) it is a day feeder and (ii) very often it hovers around the ground, aiming for ankles and lower legs. It's a part of the body that people are inclined to ignore. I could often sit cross-legged on a couch and not be bothered because they'd all be swarming around my sandals on the floor. But I'd always be covering my ankles and feet with DEET whenever I was out walking around.

To make matters worse, the zebra mosquito seems to come in different sizes in different countries, so their behavior might be different. The one in Laos looked to be twice the size of the one in Indonesia, for example.

I didn't see any the last time I was in Fiji a few years ago, although there were a lot of other sorts of mosquitoes. Unfortunate for Fiji and the rest of the region if Dengue is making a comeback.

Thanks for the info guys. Do they like the ankles because they only live near the ground? As in. If one stayed in a treehouse would one be unlikely to have them bite you?

If one stayed in a treehouse

Interesting idea, but I wouldn't count on it working. My own observation about their feeding may have more to do with their day-time foraging habits, as it were. The mosquitoes seem to start low, at ground level. That's one reason why I got into the habit of sitting cross-legged on sofas. This doesn't mean that they wouldn't do something different - such as explore higher - when they are out looking for something to eat. Certainly if I was out in the evening they'd also be up at head level, or active up at 1st/2nd floor outdoor restaurant terraces.

The big Laos mozzies had a habit of biting through the seams on my shirt, getting at my shoulders when I thought I was covered. You can take the usual precautions, then hope for the best. The problem for tourists is that it can ruin a short-stay, all the more reason to take precautions where possible.

One of the reasons I like the artificial Islands in the Lau Lagoon in Malaita, Solomon Islands, is that there are no mosquitoes. Just don't visit the mainland around dawn or dusk.

It is the same day time zebra mosquito that carries Zika

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