Dengue outbreak at Australia's Pacific island refugee detention centre sparks fresh concerns
Refugees held in Australia's detention centres on Nauru island infected by Dengue fever as opposition figures call for greater oversight
An outbreak of dengue fever at an Australian refugee detention centre in the tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru sparked calls on Thursday for greater oversight at the facility, which has been criticised by rights groups and the United Nations.
Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison’s office said that medical officers at the centre had confirmed three cases of the potentially fatal tropical disease, which is transmitted by mosquitoes.
Two of those affected by the sickness are potential refugees awaiting processing, while the other was a member of staff working at the centre, they said.
“All three people have been isolated and are receiving appropriate treatment and are expected to make a full recovery,” a spokeswoman for Morrison said in a statement.
But Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, immigration spokeswoman from the opposition Greens Party, said that outbreaks are inevitable in crowded camps like the one on Nauru and called for greater independent oversight of the overseas refugee detention system.
“The government can’t control these types of outbreaks in the harsh detention camp environment. With seven families to a tent, it’s impossible to keep children safe from the disease,” she said in a statement.