A major campaign to counter an outbreak of dengue fever in the Cook Islands has so far failed to have any impact.
Cases have doubled over the past week and numbers now stand in excess of fifty.
The Clinical Director of Health, Dr Henry Tikaka, says the last time the Cooks suffered a major outbreak was in 2001.
He says in this outbreak, the people being infected come from all over the main island.
Dr Tikaka says people must deal with any still water where mosquitos might breed:
"Now it's all around you need a country wide effort and from everyone in Rarotonga."
Dr Tikaka says the action against the mosquitos will take some time to reduce the incidence of the disease.
The Ministry of Health is using local television, radio and newspapers to try to raise public awareness about the illness
