23 Aug 2007

American Samoa boy dies possibly of dengue

1:15 pm on 23 August 2007

The Health Department in American Samoa is awaiting test results for a ten-year old boy who died recently at the LBJ hospital with symptoms of dengue fever.

The Communicable Disease Nurse for Public Health, Charmaine Edwards, says blood samples have been sent to Honolulu.

There have been 78 confirmed cases of dengue fever since January.

She says while there's awareness about the disease, some are not taking the necessary precautions.

"Still have a lot of people that really don't do anything until it hits them. We still need a lot of community outreach per say to make the people aware that it is here and it seems like it's going to be a bit longer."

The Communicable Disease Nurse for Public Health, Charmaine Edwards.