SUVA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- A total of 274,612 children aged between one to 19 years have been immunised for Meningococcal (MenC) in Fiji.
Fiji's Minister for Health and Medical Services Rosy Akbar said Thursday that while the ministry has achieved 84 percent of the target coverage, efforts are made to reach out to the other 16 percent of the targeted age groups.
"The health outreach team with the assistance of the Community Health Workers are visiting house to house in the divisions," she said, adding that "we are able to target every individual within the one to 19 years age group to get MenC immunisation."
The National MenC Immunisation has been rolled in Fiji through a funding of 11 million Fijian dollars (about 5.1 million U.S. dollars), of which 9 million Fijian dollars (about 4.2 million U.S. dollars) has been provided by the Fijian government and 2 million Fijian dollars (about 800,000 U.S. dollars) through donor funding.
Fijian health authorities confirmed earlier that there were 58 reported cases of meningococcal from Jan. 1 to April 22 this year.
There have been four confirmed deaths from the meningococcal disease this year in the age group of less than five years old.
Meningococcal disease is a life-threatening disease, which usually causes meningitis. For older children and adults, common symptoms include sudden fever, vomiting, headache, stiff neck and backache.
