An Australian led medical team has been sent to Solomon Islands to help local health officials cope with a serious outbreak of dengue.
The team of 11 includes a doctor and nurse from New Zealand and New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister, Murray McCully, says the outbreak has put considerable strain on the Solomons' health system - depleting resources and overwhelming staff.
He says there are almost 1700 suspected cases of dengue fever - 1200 of those in Honiara - and three reported deaths.
The deployment is for an initial two week period.
