21 Nov 2008

Unusual type of dengue diagnosed in New Caledonia

10:36 am on 21 November 2008

For the first time in 30 years, a person in New Caledonia has been diagnosed with type 4 Dengue fever.

Health authorities say the infected woman is in the Northern Province and had never travelled to the parts of the Pacific where type 4 is currently prevalent, such as Fiji.

New Caledonia has commonly Type 1 Dengue with some 1,000 people suffering from it this year.

A few cases of Type 4 dengue had earlier been detected, but only in people who had been exposed to the virus through travel in the region.