EIGHT suspected cases of Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) have been detected during four days of screening at St Agnes Primary School in Nabua, Suva.
National RHD co-ordinator Verenaisi Werekoro said the cases were picked up through echocardiography screening, with paediatric specialists from Colonial War Memorial Hospital expected to conduct confirmatory checks today.
“A team of paediatric specialists from the Colonial War Memorial Hospital will visit tomorrow (today) for confirmatory checks,” she said.
The detection comes a week after 10 new cases were found in Waikete Village during a community outreach.
“For RHD now in Fiji, it’s one in every classroom.
“We are also seeing a lot of new cases, especially in the areas where we have poor sanitation.”
The screening is part of World Heart Month activities this September under the theme “Don’t miss a beat”.
The program will next screen students at St John Wesley Primary, St Marcellin Primary School and pre-schools, with
Year 6 students targeted following Cure Kids research shows a high number of new cases in that age group. Ms Werekoro said new cases were also being detected among other age groups, including pregnant women during hospital bookings.
“The more we screen the more new cases we detect early, and we also commence them on treatment.”
