Schools Advised To Be Wary of Dengue Fever

Schools in Fiji have been advised to take preventative measures against dengue fever because cases continue to rise.

In response to questions from the media on Tuesday, the Minister for Education, Aseri Radrodro, stressed the importance of awareness and early detection.

“School heads and stakeholders need to be wary of the dengue outbreak and they should ask Ministry of Health officials to help them become aware of the symptoms that children might be coming to school with,” Mr Radrodro said.

Parents are urged to keep infected children at home.

“If parents see that their child has been infected with dengue, they need to keep them at home rather than send them to school,” he said.

In his announcement last week, he outlined preventative measures for schools across the country.

Based on Ministry of Health and Medical Services statistics, more than 5000 cases have been recorded nationwide between January 1 and March 23.

The ministry declared a dengue outbreak in February, with the Central Division reporting 1090 cases.

Health officials confirmed that numbers in this division have now surpassed the official outbreak threshold.

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