Figures released in New Caledonia show almost 500 people have contracted dengue since an epidemic of the mosquito-borne disease was declared in the week before Christmas.
Photo: 123RF
Health care officials said 319 people have been infected since the beginning of the month.
Forty-seven of them have been taken to hospital.
The most affected area is Noumea and its suburban area.
In 2003, a dengue epidemic claimed 19 lives.