A recent spread of dengue fever cases has been declared, with three cases originating in the north Queensland town of Tully.

Queensland Health medical director Dr Jeffrey Hanna says while the outbreak is small; there is no time to be complacent.

The virus spread started in the town late last month. In a statement made last Thurday, Dr Hanna said that, There is a large amount of people movement between Tully and the rest of north Queensland, including Townsville and Cairns where historically we have had regular dengue outbreaks.

Dr Hanna advised Tully residents to take the preventative measures seriously, especially with the recent rains and the warm temperatures, in order to thwart the outbreak from reaching other neighboring towns.

Yard inspections and trap-setting to kill dengue mosquitoes have been carried out by the Dengue Action Response Team that has visited Tully.

The only reported cases in North Queensland to date are only three in total. The good news is that the virus spread in the region is slowly declining, with the Townsville dengue spread declared over just last Friday.

More than 1000 people had contracted the virus from Cape York to Townsville, last wet season.

Medicine