Dengue Alert for Travellers: Samoa is facing a dengue fever outbreak, and Australia’s Smart Traveller is urging visitors to prevent mosquito bites with repellent and protective clothing. Regional Health Impact: Safe Travel NZ reports more than 3,500 confirmed dengue cases, 156 hospitalisations and three deaths across the Pacific from Jan 1 to Jun 11, with no vaccine to prevent first infection (but secondary infection can be prevented in some cases). Cook Islands Research & Heart Health: A Cook Islands Māori PhD researcher at the University of Otago is exploring whether bathing in naturally warm lagoon waters could support heart health, linking modern study with Pacific knowledge and elders’ wisdom. Local Environment & Public Health Link: Aitutaki’s Lagoon Management Plan consultation is pushing co-management, stronger enforcement, and ra’ui-based protections to safeguard the lagoon. Travel Rules Update: The Cook Islands is easing Covid travel requirements, moving from PCR to supervised rapid antigen tests for travellers from New Zealand and removing MIQ for unvaccinated Cook Islanders and permanent residents. Deep-Sea Discovery: NOAA’s Okeanos ship is running live deep-sea surveys near the Cook Islands, with a remotely operated vehicle scheduled to map and examine the abyssal seafloor.