Health Secretary Justina Langidrik said Thursday there have been no deaths, and the spread of the mosquito-borne illness beyond Majuro has so far been limited.
A total of six cases have been confirmed on Arno Atoll near Majuro, but no new cases were seen on other islands, she said.
Langidrik said the peak of the outbreak was Oct. 31, but health officials are continuing to see a steady flow of patients with dengue fever.
Big cleanup efforts are happening around Majuro to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds. The Marshall Islands Visitors Authority and Majuro Atoll Waste Company have removed 145 wrecked vehicles from around the island.
Mosquito-spraying teams on Ebeye and Majuro are going house-to-house spraying, with nearly 250 homes completed as of Wednesday and dozens more being completed daily.
The Ministry of Public Works has dispatched a team of workers to cover water catchments in Majuro with screens. Catchment tanks, in use at virtually every home in Majuro, were identified during earlier surveys as important breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Since last week, Public Works teams have screened several hundred tanks and drums in Majuro.
To keep up the mosquito-prevention efforts, Chief Secretary Casten Nemra said Thursday that a request for additional funding will be made to the Cabinet this week because dengue fever prevention activity needs to continue to halt the outbreak. An emergency $50,000 provided by government in late October for fighting dengue fever has been used, and another $50,000 will be requested, he said.
