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Dengue 3 Outbreak, Palau, December 2018 – January 2019 - Report Date: January 15, 2019

Countries
Palau
Sources
Govt. Palau
Publication date

Outbreak Overview

On Friday, December 7, 2018, the Palau Ministry of Health alerted the public of an outbreak of dengue fever following the first ever laboratory confirmation of two cases with dengue serotype-3. This poses a significant concern for public health as the whole population is potentially vulnerable to infection. The first two confirmed cases of dengue-3 were encountered at the Belau National Hospital on October 28 and November 11.

In response to the outbreak, the Ministry of Health activated its emergency response team on December 7, 2018. The team has been tasked with raising community awareness of the outbreak and dengue prevention measures, conducting disease surveillance and reporting, strengthening mosquito control measures, and ensuring adequate resources are available to combat the outbreak.
Between January 7 – January 13, 2019, there were 9 new cases identified. This brings the total from December 1, 2018 to January 13, 2019 to 57 cases.