Diarrhoea affecting Fiji?s Vanuabalavu islanders

[Ronan Kelly]

Diarrhoea already affecting Fiji?s Vanuabalavu islanders as warning issued
Posted at 21:27 on 09 September, 2010 UTC

Diarrohea is already affecting people living on Vanuabalavu in Fiji?s northern Lau islands, as a warning of drought-related outbreaks across the country is issued.

The Metereological Service says the severe drought in Fiji is likely to produce outbreaks of diarrhoea and dengue fever.

But the head of the public health laboratory and communicable diseases says diarrhoea has been a problem on Vanuabalavu since about 2005.

Dr Eric Rafai says with low levels of piped water people are now relying increasingly on water in tanks, which are prone to contamination.

?Some of them are having difficulty boiling water because it?s their major complaint is they don?t like the taste of the water when it?s boiled. So it?s an issue of more education for our team on Vanuabalavu.?
Dr Eric Rafai says test results determining exactly what is causing the diarrhoea should be available in a couple of days

http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=55797

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Diarrhoea affecting Fiji?s Vanuabalavu islanders

Village diarrhoea scare
Samantha Rina
Saturday, September 11, 2010

VILLAGES in Vanuabalavu, Lau, recorded increased cases of diarrhoea since July which has been attributed to the lack of rainfall in the past three months.

Doctor Francis Yee, who is based at the Lomaloma Hospital in Vanuabalavu, said 22 diarrhoea cases were recorded for July-August ? an unusually high statistic compared to the average two or three cases normally recorded per month.

"We've had an increase of diarrhoea cases especially in children under the age of five years. We conducted our investigations through water testing and house-to-house inspections and concluded that it was caused by the lack of clean drinking water, which is the result of the lack of rainfall in the past three months," she said.

Dr Yee said majority of the cases reported to the hospital were from villagers living in the Mualevu District.

"We have visited homes in the affected villages and have advised the people on precautionary measures like the importance of boiling drinking water and washing hands thoroughly. The villagers were cooperative and the diarrhoea cases have since been contained," she said.

Dr Yee said they suspected the concrete tank from which villagers sourced water was contaminated and they were trying to emphasise the need for every family to have own water tanks.

"In most villages all families rely on one main tank located centrally in the village. The health inspector and I are now looking for funding for a project where we are proposing that each family have their own water tank," she said.

She said water samples had been sent to Mataika House in Tamavua for tests.

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=155736