Tongan health authorities say there's been an outbreak of the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus affecting more than 10,000 people across the country.

It's the first time Tonga has had an outbreak of the virus, which causes acute fever and joint pain.

The director of Tonga's ministry of health Dr Siale Akau'ola is urging people to take the necessary precautions.

"Clearly with the quick spread it means that the mosquitos are still around," he told Pacific Beat.

"So we're trying to encourage people to do a clean-up, spray for the vector and keep safe. Sleep in mosquito nets so that they are not bitten by the mosquito."

Dr Akau'ola says Tonga is receiving help from the World Health Organisation and he's confident authorities are on top of the disease.

"It's a major outbreak but I think we feel that it's at its peak now. We are hopeful that it will start to go down within the coming few weeks."

Dr Akau'ola says two children have died in Tonga recently but it's believed their deaths were caused by dengue fever.

The Pacific has been dealing with an unprecedented chain of dengue fever, zika virus and chikungunya epidemics.

Earlier this month the Secretariat of the Pacific Community warned countries that mosquito-borne viruses could have serious social and economic impacts over the next five years.

Dr Akau'ola says he believes the chikungunya disease was spread to Tonga from elsewhere in the region.

"There are outbreaks in other Pacific islands. So with the frequent trips between islands, I'm sure it must have come from one of the other islands."

Chikungunya has already infected tens of thousands of people in Papua New Guinea.

Dr Akau'ola says the outbreak in Tonga has added further pressure to the health system, which is still dealing with the recovery from Cyclone Ian that hit the country earlier this year.

The WHO says vector-borne diseases like malaria, dengue fever and chikungunya have re-emerged and are spreading to new parts of the world.

Every year, more than a million deaths are caused by diseases carried by mosquitoes, flies, ticks, bugs and fleas.

For many, there are no vaccines and some don't even have effective treatments.