Typhoid outbreak in Fiji villages

12 December 2011 09:21

Visitors to Fiji are advised to take precautions as the two villages have been hit by an outbreak of typhoid

Visitors to Fiji are advised to take precautions as the two villages have been hit by an outbreak of typhoid

Two Fijian villages have been hit by an outbreak of typhoid.

The country's Ministry of Health says that it has contained the spread of typhoid in the villages of Nanoko and Navosa, in Sigatoka.

According to officials, the disease no longer poses a health hazard to members of the public or tourists.

However, the World Health Organisation's Team Leader for Communicable Diseases, Dr Jacob Kool, says it's unlikely the outbreak is under control.

There are 39 cases, of whom 16 have been confirmed to have typhoid.

Dr Kool said: "The main risk still is that it might have spread to a wider area than just that village. We often see in Fiji that there are entire areas where outbreaks occur, like we saw in 2010 when there were hundreds of cases in several villages.

He added: "Even though they did a lot of control measures the disease kept moving from one area to another."

Visitors to Fiji and the regions around the island nation should take precautions to avoid contracting the disease and also arm themselves with a good medical travel insurance cover for additional protection.

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