Measles Ground Zero: 5 Households Under Quarantine

Five households in Wailali Settlement in Wainadoi, Namosi have been put under quarantine as the Ministry of Health tries to control the spread of measles.

Five of the nine confirmed cases of measles are from the households.

They are four-month-old Ioane Ravuama, Asilika Vate, 22, Angelo Morris, 6, Susan Morris 25 and Nancy Patricia, 22.

All family members living with the five households are under strict orders not to leave the compound, and their movement is being monitored by the Fiji Police Force. The Police make random patrols in the day to see if the orders given by the Ministry of Health are being adhered to.

All those living there and nearby have been vaccinated.

But all is not well for the five households. There are 16 children below the age of 16 years staying in the five houses, and only two of them have measles.

Baby Ioane Ravuama was one of the first cases of measles to be confirmed by the Ministry of Health. Photo: Shalveen Chand

Dr Waqainabete’s comments

After the recent cases, which were discovered in Suva, Minister for Health and Medical Services Dr Ifereimi  Waqainabete said the public should refrain from mass gatherings not only in the Serua and Namosi provinces but also in the Suva-Nausori corridor.

He is calling on the public not to take the measles issue lightly.

“The disease kills children. We have to see what’s happening around the world and around the region to see how serious it is,” he said.

Dr Waqainabete said under the Public Health Act, they had the power to quarantine anyone in the case of infectious diseases.

Vaccines

There are now many people wanting to get vaccinated.

This has led to large crowds turning up at health centres around the country. Now there are no more vaccines at some health centres, even at Navua Hospital. Word from Navua Hospital is that they would receive the new stock next week.

Current stocks are being reserved for the following high-risk target groups:

1. The residents of Serua/Namosi;

2. Children from the ages of six months to three years; and

3. People travelling overseas, however proof of travel must be shown i.e. ticket/travel itinerary, not just a passport.

The routine immunisation of children at 12 and 18 months of age will continue as per the national immunisation schedule.

Dr Waqainabete said there were 200,000 batches of vaccine coming into the country by next week.

“I was briefly told that we have gone through 90,000 vaccines. That’s before the 35,000 that came and we have gone through another 20,000 of that, so really we have gone through 110,000 vaccinations,” he said.

“And that does not even include the normal vaccinations we have to do for children who are 12 months and 18 months – that carry out as normal.”

Fiji’s history with measles

In 1875, when measles first came to Fiji via trade ships, a quarter of Fiji’s population, which was estimated as about 40,000 people died. In some places in Fiji, there are mass graves of those who had died from the disease.

A grave reminder not to take any infectious disease as a light matter, even in this day and age.

Precautions taken

The Fiji Sun news team was vaccinated on November 12, 10 days prior to visiting the infected zone.

Edited by Naisa Koroi

Feedback:  shalveen.chand@fijisun.com.fj