Riya Bhagwan 
The high number of dengue cases in the Western Division among the 10-29 age group is due to older individuals developing immunity to the virus.
World Mosquito Program Executive Director of Delivery, Cameron Simmons, says older people likely developed immunity after exposure to multiple dengue viruses earlier in life.
“Particularly in Southeast Asia, dengue is a disease of children and young adults, and it’s because once you’ve had two dengue virus exposures in your life, you’re immune for the rest of your life, and so what you see is that in the first two or three decades of life, including in Fiji, people experience dengue virus infections. They may not know they’ve been infected, but they develop some immunity.”
[World Mosquito Program Executive Director of Delivery, Cameron Simmons]
He adds that increased mobility due to travel and other activities makes this age group more vulnerable to the virus and more likely to spread it across communities.
Environmental advocates are stressing the importance of cleanliness in the fight against dengue.
Young advocate Gabriel Chand says Fiji can eliminate the risk of such outbreaks entirely if people shift their mindset and change their attitude toward cleanliness.
“I know that it is hard but when we change our mindset if we place if we put in some practices like cleanliness in our daily lives and disposing of rubbish in a right way in the right way we can make a change and maybe this outbreak won’t be there again.”
As part of its response, the Ministry of Health is visiting communities to inspect and ensure clean and safe surroundings.
https://www.viti.plus/title/28/ultimate-showdown
