Fiji faces no significant threat from the Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala, India.
However, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services has advised caution for all citizens, especially those who may be travelling to and from the affected region.
An advisory from the ministry stated they were monitoring the outbreak of the Nipah virus at Kozhikode in Kerala, India, where six confirmed cases and two deaths were recorded.
The ministry said the risk of spread to Fiji was low because none of the countries in the region had reported cases and animals were not imported from Kerala.
“However, we know that it is important to maintain awareness and readiness to infectious disease threats from beyond our borders,” the statement read.
“The early detection of outbreaks is reliant upon the vigilance of our health professionals and effective surveillance systems to detect unusual events.
“The Fiji Centre for Disease Control conducts annual Divisional Outbreak Response Team (DORT) training before the rainy season in the divisions for health professionals that includes early detection and rapid response to outbreaks.”
The ministry said it had a number of disease surveillance systems that were designed to assist with early outbreak detection. Health officials are maintaining their presence at the borders and Fiji continues to maintain communication with World Health Organisation officials.
According to WHO, the Nipah virus can be transmitted to humans from animals, mostly bats or pigs, or by consuming contaminated foods.
This can then be transmitted directly from human-to-human. Members of the public have also been advised to immediately see a doctor if they experienced fever with cough, sore throat, vomiting or body pains, and inform medical professionals of their travel history if there was any recent travel to Kozhikode.
