The New Caledonian government has issued an alert for an impending dengue epidemic.
It says six new cases were confirmed on Friday after an initial outbreak two days ago when five people were reported infected.
In a statement, the government says the six new cases have been found in six different areas of the greater Noumea area which means the threshold for an epidemic appears to have been reached.
It says the fight against dengue concerns everybody, urging the public to eliminate breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Spraying of affected neighbourhoods will begin today.
