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National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, 2004
Annual report
During 2004, there were 326 notifi cations of dengue
(DENV) reported to NNDSS, of which Queensland
reported 249 notifi cations (76%). The only locally
acquired notifi cations were reported by Queensland
(n=181), while other jurisdictions reported imported
cases from overseas (n=70), or from unknown
sources (n=74). Queensland reported a peak in
DENV notifi cations in November 2003 and February
2004 (95–97 cases). These were much lower than
the previous peak of 252 notifi cations in March 2003
(Figure 53).
Figure 53. Notifications of dengue (locally
acquired and imported cases), select jurisdictions,
January 1998 to June 2005, by month and year of
onset
Number of notifications
300
250
200
150
100
50
New South Wales
Northern Territory
Queensland
Western Australia
been suggested that the primary infection for these
two cases occurred in 1981, 29 when there was a dengue
serotype 1 epidemic. The deaths from DSS were
the first from locally acquired dengue in Australia for
100 years.
An incursion of the mosquito vector for DENV,
Aedes aegypti, occurred in Tennant Creek in the
Northern Territory in February 2004. 30,31 This species
of mosquito has not been endemic in the
Northern Territory since 1955. 32 Mosquito control
activities including fogging in residential and public
places, distribution of surface sprays, removal of
water-fi lled receptacles and residual insecticide
spraying were initiated along with public awareness
campaigns. 33 No human cases of dengue
were reported in Tennant Creek.
The age and sex distribution of DENV notifi cations
is shown in Figure 54. Most cases in males occurred
in the 30–34 year age group (25 cases), and in
females in the 25–29 year age group (24 cases).
Figure 54. Notifications of dengue (locally
acquired and imported cases), Australia, 2004,
by age group and sex
0
1 7 13 19 25 31 37 43 49 55 61 67
30
Month and year of onset
25
Male
The Queensland notifi cations resulted from outbreaks
that began in late 2003 in Cairns, Townsville
and the Torres Strait islands. A summary of identifi
ed outbreaks of locally acquired cases is shown in
Table 21.
Notifications
20
15
10
5
0
Female
Dengue serotype 2 was the major serogroup circulating
in Queensland during these outbreaks. A 40-
year-old Torres Strait Islander woman and 70-yearold
man died from dengue shock syndrome (DSS)
in February and March 2004, respectively, and it has
0-4
5-9
10-14
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
Age group (years)
65-69
70-74
75-79
80-84
85+
Table 21. Outbreaks of locally acquired cases of dengue, Queensland, 2003 to 2004
Year Location Reported cases Duration (weeks) Type
2003–04 Cairns, Townsville, Torres 536 69 Dengue 2
2003–04 Torres, Cairns 356 41 Dengue 2
2004 Torres 1 1 Dengue 2
Data provided by Dr Jeffrey Hanna, Tropical Public Health Unit, Cairns, November 2005.
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