Richard Sanders
As of Wednesday, the Tongan government has reported a total of 73 dengue cases. According to a statement from the health ministry, the most affected age group is 10-19 years old. Five cases are currently hospitalized and are stable. Tongatapu, the main island, has the highest number of confirmed cases (33), followed by Vava’u (28) and ‘Eua (12). No deaths have been reported. The country declared an outbreak on 19 February.
The health ministry expressed gratitude to the Chinese Embassy in Nuku’alofa and the Australian government for their immediate support. They also urged people to clean out water storage containers and dispose of any items that could collect water and serve as mosquito breeding grounds, such as tires, bottles, tins, and coconut shells.
The ministry, in collaboration with the Tonga Red Cross Society, WHO, UNICEF, and SPC, continues preventative activities in hotspot and high-risk areas. The initial samples collected from Tongatapu indicated that dengue virus type 2 is responsible for the current outbreak. Results from the second batch, which includes samples from Vava’u and ‘Eua, are expected later this week.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reported that over 100,000 cases have been recorded from 24 countries and territories as of January this year. In 2024, there were more than 14 million dengue cases and over 10,000 dengue-related deaths worldwide. A Pan American Health Organisation update on 20 February (local time) reported 477,599 suspected dengue cases for epidemiological weeks 1-5, 2025, which is a 54% decrease compared to the same period in 2024, but a 25% increase compared to the average of the last five years. Out of the reported cases, 154,757 (32%) were laboratory-confirmed, 596 (0.1%) were classified as severe dengue, and 132 fatalities were recorded. In week five, Brazil reported 93,253 of the 105,767 cases in the Pan American region.
