Dengue epidemics are a public health challenge in French Polynesia (FP) as in India. It seems clear that the transmission of dengue is facilitated by inadequate waste disposal and dumping. Also the intensification of human relationships, communications, and travels between the Polynesian islands and other foreign countries make it difficult to control the spread of the disease. This year the virus of Zika, a mosquito-transmitted disease, was detected for the first time in FP and the hypothesis is that it has been imported from another country by plane. Zika epidemics in FP occurred simultaneously with an international sports gathering (the Tahiti Beach Soccer World Cup) that was associated with increased plane traffic towards and from FP.
Rapid Response:
Re: What can India do about dengue fever?
Dengue epidemics are a public health challenge in French Polynesia (FP) as in India. It seems clear that the transmission of dengue is facilitated by inadequate waste disposal and dumping. Also the intensification of human relationships, communications, and travels between the Polynesian islands and other foreign countries make it difficult to control the spread of the disease. This year the virus of Zika, a mosquito-transmitted disease, was detected for the first time in FP and the hypothesis is that it has been imported from another country by plane. Zika epidemics in FP occurred simultaneously with an international sports gathering (the Tahiti Beach Soccer World Cup) that was associated with increased plane traffic towards and from FP.
Competing interests: No competing interests