TRAVELLERS BEWARE
Pacific holiday health warning
Kiwis escaping the winter to catch the rays in Fiji are being warned to be vigilant as the Pacific nation grapples with an outbreak of meningococcal disease.
The Ministry of Health is advising New Zealanders, especially children and teenagers, to vaccinate against the strand plaguing the country, meningococcal C, if they are planning a long trip.
More than 30 cases of the disease have been reported in Fiji this year.
The Government’s Safe Travel website issued a warning in March, “though the risk for travellers to Fiji is low”.
“People staying in local communities or for longer periods of time should be vigilant and aware of the symptoms of meningitis following an outbreak of meningococcal disease.”
The most common form of meningococcal disease in New Zealand is type B, for which a vaccine was funded for babies, children and teenagers between 2004 and 2008, after an epidemic in the early 2000s. After rates of infection declined, the vaccine was pulled from the national immunisation programme.
But Elizabeth Hayes, co-founder and director of Meningitis Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand, said most Kiwis didn’t realise they could be vaccinated against the A, C, Y and W types at medical centres around the country.
Cases of meningococcal disease here increased by 55 per cent year on year from 75 in 2016 to 116 last year, according to the ESR’s latest Public Health Surveillance Report.
Cases of meningococcal type W jumped from eight to 12 in that period. A quarter of people who contracted meningococcal W last year died.
A Ministry of Health spokesman said any increase in meningococcal cases was concerning and it was unfortunate the W type of the disease was becoming more prevalent.
“The ministry constantly monitors the numbers of meningococcal cases and adjusts its advice accordingly.”
Public health units investigated each time they were notified of a new case and provided the patient’s close contacts with advice about vaccination and antibiotics to prevent the spread of the disease.