21 May 2015

Cooks chikungunya being contained

2:37 pm on 21 May 2015

The director of Community Health in the Cook Islands, Neti Herman, says they are finally gaining ground in efforts to contain the spread of chikungunya.

The Cook Islands News reports the Public Health Service has a programme to spray insecticide around the homes and workplaces of chikungunya disease victims.

It is also spreading the message about the mosquito borne virus, providing information to visitors at Rarotonga International Airport.

536 people have been reported with the disease since October last year, with most of those on Rarotonga, though officials believe some people who contract the illness are not seeking medical help.

Dr Herman says the number of new cases appears to fluctuate according to the weather, and reached a peak of 73 during a bout of very wet weather several weeks ago.

Get the RNZ app

for ad-free news and current affairs