At least 70 cases of dengue in Tonga

Tonga's Ministry of Health says there are at least 70 dengue cases in the country.

Supervising Public Health Inspector, Sela Fa'u, says a cleaning up campaign is underway and officials are working to destroy mosquito breeding areas in villages where the victims of dengue fever live.

They are focusing on swampy areas in the central district.

Ms Fa'u says it is important for people to practice hygienic lifestyles during the recovering period from last month's Cyclone Gita, in an effort to control the spread of dengue.

Tonga declared a dengue outbreak following the death of a 12-year-old New Zealand girl in the kingdom in late January.

Her family say she died due to dengue after first being misdiagnosed followed by a lack of adequate treatment at Vaiola hospital.