Rise in dengue fever outbreaks across the Pacific driven by the climate crisis, experts say | Pacific islands
Experts say that the climate crisis has achieved a sharp increase in the cases of Dang Humas on the Pacific Islands, and infections have fallen to its highest levels in a decade and declare emergency situations.
Pacific Island countries and regions, World Health Organization (WHO) and other agencies cooperation with the Pacific Syndromic Surveillance System (PSSS), since the beginning of 2025, 16.502 approved cases and 17 deaths reported. Infections in the region have been the highest level since 2016, DSÖ in question. Fiji, Samoa and Tonga are among the worst affected.
Dr Paula Vivili, Deputy General Manager of the Pacific Community, said that historically dang epidemics are seasonal.
“However, due to climate change, the transmission seasons are extended due to climate change, and some areas are experiencing the risk of dang throughout the year,” he said.
Dang fever, a viral disease emitted by AEDES mosquitoes, can be fatal in high fever, severe headache, joint and muscle pain, rashes and severe cases. Increased temperatures, rainfall and increasing humidity create ideal reproductive conditions for AEDES mosquitoes, even in areas that were not suitable for transmission.
“Dang Joel Kaufman, the epidemiologist and director of exposure, disease, genomic and environmental center at the University of Washington, said,” One of the first real illness that we can take at the bottom of climate change, “Dang said.
Kaufman said, “Rainfall raises the water line on the mosquito eggs placed just above the surface, then the egg – this is part of the natural reproductive cycle. Heavy rains can increase stagnant water resources and create more opportunities for mosquitoes to grow, Kauf Kaufman said.
Kaufman pointed out the wider public health struggle of these outbreaks.
“The planet is the pioneer of many types of human disease that becomes more common and more serious as the planet warms.”
Because it declared an epidemic in April, Samoa confirmed that there were more than 5,600 deaths and more than 5,600 deaths, including two brothers. This year Fiji recorded eight deaths and 10,969 cases. Tonga reported more than 800 cases and three deaths for declare a epidemic in February.
These outbreaks emphasize the vulnerable to climate -sensitive diseases that are expected to concentrate as global temperatures increase.
According to the Climate Change Panel (IPCC), Pacific Island countries produce only 0.03% of global greenhouse gas emissions, but they face some of the most severe health threats, including vector diseases.
In recent months, according to the New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Studies (NiWA), the Pacific’s Palau, Papua new Gine and Solomon islands brought extreme rainfall. Estimates show that these contrasts will continue until October.
Although higher rainfall has been attributed to ideal conditions for mosquito breeding, Kaufman excessive weather events can increase the transmission of mosquito -caused diseases, he said. According to Niwa, in the first half of the year, serious dry or very dry conditions were recorded in the major parts of the Pacific.
“We may have thought that dryness will reduce mosquito -induced infections, but apparently this is not. Instead, there is a transmission acceleration.”
National reactions have changed throughout the Pacific. Samoa, Cook Islands and American Samoası declared emergency situations. The Cook Islands performed cleaning, condensed surveillance and targeted spraying. Tonga, the worst islands to support the clutter response to the clutch, canvas to encourage preventive measures returned to social media and health campaigns. Samoa organized school cleaning and increased public health messages. New Zealand sent a clinical team and Samoa and Samoan health authorities, as well as $ 300,000 ($ 178,000) to Samoa.
However, experts say that these measures are weakened by insufficient surveillance.
“Existing disease surveillance systems are rarely sufficient to manage dang, as the existing disease surveillance systems are proved by the continuous growth of the danga in the region,” he said.
Mosquito control tools are the methods used to reduce the population of AEDES mosquito, such as removal of reproductive areas, application of larvicides or insecticides spraying. They may also include biological controls, personal protection measures and community cleaning campaigns to prevent mosquito bites and transmission.
Nevertheless, Reiner said that many mosquito control tools were not proven to reduce the transmission with most response to the reactive and often “chasing the outbreak with waste, too late effort”.
