Qld: Nth Qld dengue outbreak an epidemic
21 Jan 2009 6:15 PM
BRISBANE, Jan 21 AAP - North Queensland's dengue fever outbreak has been declared an epidemic with the number of confirmed cases climbing to 179.
Tests have shown 170 people in Cairns and nine in Townsville have contracted the mosquito-borne disease.
Queensland Health's Dr Linda Selvey said the Cairns outbreak was of a type of dengue fever more virulent than that found in Townsville.
Dr Selvey said more people were having to be hospitalised, with one person requiring several days in intensive care.
"We are really concerned how quickly the number of cases have grown, how quickly it has moved to a range of different suburbs, the short incubation time which makes it difficult to control and the fact it's making people sicker," Dr Selvey told AAP.
"People are getting sicker than we normally see and children are getting sick where as previously children weren't necessarily getting sick."
There are four types of dengue fever and each type has different strains.
Cairns is dealing with an outbreak of a strain of dengue type three, believed to have originated in Indonesia.
One case of type three has been confirmed in Townsville, while the other cases are type one.
Residents are being urged to empty water from any containers that could act as a site for mosquitoes to lay eggs.
Dengue fever symptoms include fever, sunburn-like rash, sore eyes and lethargy.
