Movement restrictions were imposed on two villages in Cakaudrove Province, Vanua Levu last week as six cases of typhoid have been reported.

Confirmation by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services was made on Saturday after it recorded a resurgence of typhoid cases in the Cakaudrove Medical Sub-Division.

As of July 16, six cases of typhoid have been confirmed for Waivunia Village in Nasavusavu and Natua Village in Wailevu West.

The ministry, in a statement, reported that movement restrictions had been imposed for villagers of Waivunia six days ago while villagers of Natua were on their third day on July 16.

The Cakaudrove Sub-Divisional Outbreak Response Team (SDORT) in collaboration with other stakeholders namely the Fiji Police Force, Cakaudrove Provincial

Council and NGO’s (Tyfive), have implemented containment measures to prevent further outbreak in these two villages.

Containment Measures

Apart from the restriction of movement in these two villages, other containment measures include;

• Isolation and management of positive cases;
• Fever screening with a use of thermal guns at village check- point which is manned 24/7;
• Distribution of WASH Kits for immediate families;
• Empower villagers to practice best hand washing practices;
• No social gathering;
• Community awareness by health teams on the ground;
• Contact tracing;
• Blood sampling for primary contacts;
• Testing of water samples as both villages have their own untreated water supplies;

Signs and Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of typhoid common in the six confirmed cases are:

• high temperature,
• headache,
• general aches
• and pains and constipation.

The ministry advises members of the public to report to their nearest health centre or medical facility if they experience any of these signs and symptoms.

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