Dengue Control in North Queensland, Australia: Case Recognition and Selective Indoor Residual Spraying

A large epidemic of dengue in Townsville and Charters Towers, north Queensland, Australia, initiated the development of a Dengue Fever Management Plan for north Queensland (DFMP) in 1994. The DFMP integrated disease surveillance, vector control and health promotion activities to prevent dengue outbreaks. While initially successful in preventing the recurrence of epidemic dengue in north Queensland, a protracted epidemic of DEN-3 in the Cairns area led to a revision of the DFMP in 2000. The revised DFMP placed emphasis on the early recognition of cases and development of a specialized Dengue Action Response Team (DART) to conduct selective indoor residual spraying with pyrethroid insecticides to control the vector, Aedes aegypti. Since the launch of the DFMP 2000, dengue outbreaks have been contained in terms of the areas affected, duration of the outbreak and the total number of cases despite an increase in recognized dengue activity.