Ciguatera
Aedes
aegypti
Specific diseases
Beside common diseases of most countries including the advanced ones, New Caledonia has more specifically cases of:
- dengue
- leptospirosis
- leprosis
- ciguatera
Curiously for a tropical country and without a good explanation, there is no malaria in New Caledonia while this disease is endemic in the close archipelago of Vanuatu (400 km).
Aids remains at a fairly low level : 15 new cases in 2001 and about 240 known cases currently (1 for 1000 people).
Dengue
Dengue is also named "tropical flu". Virus responsible of the dengue outbreaks are transmitted to man through the mosquito Aedes aegypti. 60 to 100 million people are infected each year in the world. The dangerous form of this disease, hemorragic dengue, is increasing in several tropical regions and kills more than 20 000 people worldwide yearly. The main means for fighting this disease spreading is through eradication of mosquitos population.
In New Caledonia dengue is generally restricted to urban areas where it occurs in quick and limited outbreaks. So far cases of dengue remain begnin. Most of New Caledonia urban councils have programs of mosquitoes eradication.
Leptospirosis
This disease is caused by a bacteria a spirochete, genus Leptospira, which lives mostly among rodents but also in areas where there is water or humidity. It is transmitted through skin contact with sullied media or with infected animals.
193 cases have been reported in New Caledonia within 2 years. This disease occurs mostly among animal raising professionals having repeated contacts with water, domestic animals or farm animals, pigs mostly.
Leprosis
50 years ago it was a disease with a fairly high occurrence, mostly within the Melanesian population. The health system enabling now to treat everybody, this disease is now seldom occurring (3 cases over 100000 people while it still was 15/100000 in 1980). The Raoul Follereau treatement center in Noumea has now only 15 resident contaminated people.
Ciguatera
Ciguatera (locally named "gratte") is a food poisoning typical of places where people eat fish from coral reef areas. A full webpage on ciguatera is available. Cases are fairly frequent (1645 cases in 16 years ) and many are not recorded. Generally Ciguatera is an affection with no bad consequences
Health system
The health condition of New Caledonia population is good, close to the one of the most advanced countries. There are 400 physicians operating in New Caledonia, half of them being specialised and this for a population of hardly more than 200 000 people. Hospitals have 900 beds capacity. Hospitals equipment is close to the one of advanced countries. Only the most difficult cases of surgery require sending people to Australia with which there is an agreement enabling a fast hospitalisation while expenses are covered by the New Caledonia health system.
Health expenditure amount to 8,8% of GDP.