SYDNEY (Reuters) - ACT Brumbies forward Tuaina Taii Tualima returned from the Super Rugby Pacific match against Fijian Drua in Suva two weeks ago with the mosquito-born disease dengue fever, the team said on Monday.
Tualima, who signed from the now defunct Melbourne Rebels in the off-season, made his debut for the Canberra-based team at blindside flanker in the clash in the Fijian capital on February 15, which the Brumbies won 36-32.
The 27-year-old was a late withdrawal from the bench for the loss to Western Force in round two of the competition and left out of the matchday squad for last weekend's defeat at the hands of Waikato Chiefs in Hamilton.
"The team took all preventative measures against mosquito-borne illnesses, however one of our players, Tuaina Taii Tualima, has become ill after catchingdengue fever," the Brumbies said in a statement on Monday.
"The affected player has been diagnosed early and is receiving medical input from the team doctor and an infectious disease specialist."
The Fijian government announced an outbreak of the infectious disease in the western part of the country's main island away from Suva in early February, saying 200 cases had been recorded this year.
While severe dengue fever can be deadly, most people recover after two to seven days even if fatigue can linger for several weeks.
The absence of Tualima, a powerful ball-running flanker, is a blow to the Brumbies, who are already without injured Wallabies loose forwards Rob Valetini and Tom Hooper for Friday's visit to Auckland to play the defending champion Blues.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Lincoln Feast.)
