Advice to tourists and visitors to north Queensland
Dengue fever is found in many tropical countries around the world and can make you very sick. It is spread when someone is bitten by an infected dengue mosquito.
There is no vaccine or medicine currently available to prevent people from getting dengue fever so it’s important when travelling in tropical areas to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes by:
- wearing a good repellent (containing DEET or Picaridin), particularly during the day when the dengue mosquito is most active
- staying in screened accommodation
- when possible wearing long, loose clothing to help protect yourself from bites
- remembering the dengue mosquito prefers to feed indoors, so you don’t have to be outside to get bitten.
If you’ve been to a tropical country in the last two weeks and you develop symptoms such as:
- a fever
- headaches
- muscle and joint pain
- fatigue
it’s important you see a doctor immediately, you could have dengue fever.
If you want more information on dengue fever, or think you might have symptoms, call
1800 DENGUE (1800 336 483), it’s a free call!
The more you can do to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes the better protected you’ll be.
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