The authorities in Fiji have declared an outbreak of dengue fever in Nadi and the nearby town of Ba.
There have been 312 confirmed cases of dengue in the Western Division since the beginning of the year and most of the cases are in Nadi and Ba which are on the main island of Viti Levu.
The Ministry of Heath said it was particularly concerned with the high numbers of patients needing to be admitted to hospital, most of them with severe dengue.
Ten patients a week are being admitted to hospital with the mosquito-borne disease.
There have been about 860 cases throughout the country since the start of the year.
Photo: lamyai/123RF
The government has urged people to avoid being bitten by mosquitos by using repellants containing DEET.
It said mosquito surveys conducted by the Ministry's Nadi Health Office in January reported a very high level of breeding of the Aedes species of mosquito which spreads dengue fever.
It has urged people to make a routine of cleaning up places which might breed mosquitoes.
