12-year-old Kiwi girl dies of dengue fever while in Tonga

Wednesday, 7 February 2018

A 12-year-old Auckland girl has died of dengue fever while on a family trip to Tonga.

Toafei Telefoni died on January 24, and her funeral was held in south Auckland last week.

Relatives said Toafei Telefoni was a quiet and humble person.

Her uncle, Kinga Langi, said that when Telefoni complained that her body was heating up while on the trip to Tonga, her parents took her to the local hospital.

However, all she was given was a pill to prevent her from vomiting, according to Langi.

Family members are coming to terms with Telefoni's sudden death.

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Telefoni's relatives took her to Vaiola hospital in Tonga three times but the girl remained undiagnosed on each visit, Langi said.

'They did not [diagnose dengue] until the fourth time,' Langi said.

'But it was too late, her heart beat was too low.'

Telefoni died in hospital on January 24, six days before she had been due to arrive home in New Zealand.

Telefoni spent her life at school and in service to the church, according to Langi.

Her funeral was held on Friday afternoon in Otahuhu with mourning relatives in attendance.

'She was an angel,' Langi said.

'The most quiet and humble person I ever met with in my life.'

Dengue fever is a viral disease spread by the bite of an infected mosquito.

Symptoms include high fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, joint pain, muscle and bone pain, rash and mild bleeding, such as nose bleeds.

A small proportion of dengue fever cases can lead to shock or death.

In October, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade advised of a dengue fever outbreak in several Pacific islands.

'New Zealanders in these countries should take extreme care and take protective measures to prevent mosquito bites.'

Auckland Regional Public Health Service medical officer of health, Dr Denise Barnfather said there had been a sharp rise in dengue cases in the last year.

She said that by November the ARPHS had been notified of 18 cases of dengue compared to three for the same period the year before.

'Dengue fever can be a severe illness,' Barnfather said.

'Those who travel to Pacific countries frequently are at risk of repeat infections with different strains of the dengue virus. This can lead to dengue haemorrhagic fever, which can be fatal.'

New Zealand mosquitoes do not carry dengue virus, and it is not spread person to person.