Te Marae Ora (TMO) Ministry of Health has noted that old vehicles continue to be a challenge during home inspections for the Tutaka campaign around Rarotonga.

Secretary of Health Bob Williams says it’s an issue that has been discussed among key agencies which will require a national response.

National Environment Service (NES) has been running programmes for the safe disposal of whiteware electrical goods “and it will be good to have a similar disposal plan for vehicles”.

Williams added that there have been no other major issues from the Tutaka programmes as people have been preparing well and have kept their homes and vegetation clean including mosquito breeding places.

Tutaka campaign coordinator Charlie Ave earlier confirmed that over 3500 properties were inspected and over 100 issues were found. Most of them were motor vehicle wrecks around people’s properties, followed by over 50 discarded tires.

The campaign began on July 22 and ended last month encouraging the public to keep their environment clean and prevent any outbreak of dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and other environmental diseases.

In a recently released National Health and information Bulletin 2021-2023, Te Marae Ora stated that under their protocol the occurrence of five dengue cases necessitates the declaration of an outbreak.

The report stated that from 2021 to 2023, the ministry sustained vector control programmes, including targeted awareness campaigns to encourage community engagement in maintaining clean homes to eliminate mosquito breeding sites.

The Tutaka Programme, a house-to-house environmental risk assessment, was also conducted regularly to further reduce the risk.

According to the report, in 2021, there were 193 reported cases of dengue fever, with 25 per cent requiring hospitalisation. In contrast, only seven cases were reported in 2022.

“The affected individuals ranged from five months to 84 years old, underscoring the broad age range susceptible to dengue fever.”

Following the dengue outbreak declaration on February 2, 2021, the Cabinet directed public servants to participate in Operation Namu 21, an island-wide mass cleanup aimed at eliminating mosquito breeding sites and mitigating further impact, the report said.

“This operation involved clearing debris, stagnant water, and overgrown vegetation, which are potential mosquito habitats. The dengue outbreak was officially declared over on August 16, 2021, marking a successful intervention. “This experience underscores the critical need for coordinated public health efforts and community participation in managing and preventing dengue fever outbreaks.”

Dengue fever, which presents with flu-like symptoms lasting two to seven days, typically manifests after an incubation period of three to 14 days following the bite of a mosquito. Symptoms usually include fever, body aches, nausea, and rash.