A 20-year-old who died after being admitted to the LBJ Hospital in American Samoa in the advanced stages of dengue fever has raised alarm bells at the territory's Health Department.
The death, according to a Deparment of Health report, is believed to be the first from dengue in several years.
The Department has stepped up it's awareness effortsm, with communicable disease surveillance nurse Charmaine Edwards, saying the situation will get worse before it gets better.
"Ïve seen a lot of cases come through the ER as suspected dengues, and I'm actually now up to 29 confirmed cases with more cases pending with results coming in, so that's another reasons we're stepping up our campaign is to really make the public aware that dengue is here and it's prevalent on the island."
Charmaine Edwards says there could be an epidemic if the situation is not nipped in the bud.
