4 Feb 2015

Niue's first death from chikungunya

3:09 pm on 4 February 2015

An opposition MP in Niue is questioning the hospital's capacity to cope after a young woman died last week in Niue's first suspected case of chikungunya.

The 22 year old mother had recently spent two weeks in Samoa where chikungunya is rife and was not feeling well when she passed through New Zealand on her return to Niue.

Terry Coe says the woman was admitted to hospital when she arrived in Niue but died after several days there.

He says more help is needed from the Pacific Islands Forum to coordinate an effective strategy to deal with this regional health concern.

"The biggest problem that I see is our actual health care of people who contract the disease from the mosquitoes. And are we capable of preventing more deaths by giving the proper treatment. We can't afford to lose more people if we're not treating those people successfully."

Terry Coe.