Pacific news in brief for 19 May
Photo:
RNZ Pacific / Dominic Godfrey
Samoa's Ministry of Health has declared its whooping cough outbreak over.
It said last Wednesday that this follows a consistent decline in reported case and no suspected cases in the previous four weeks.
The outbreak of the disease, also known as pertussis, was declared on 28 November last year.
It said that the total of suspected and confirmed cases since the declaration had reached 427.
The Ministry said that while the spread of the disease is under control, people are urged not to be complacent and to check their children's immunisations are up to date.
Police in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea have been investigating the deaths of two young children whose bodies were found in an abandoned car outside the city at the beginning of this month.
According to police the four and five year olds were last seen alive at the beginning of March.
Their remains were found in a vehicle at Gereka, just outside Port Moresby.
A postmortem was conducted at Port Moresby General Hospital on 6 May to determine the cause of death.
NBC
reported the Police Commissioner David Manning saying the Crimes Investigation Team is working around the clock to gather evidence and identify witnesses.
He also expressed grave concern over the increasing trend of child abuse in the country, condemning these as despicable acts and betrayals of trust.
He has urged parents and guardians to take their responsibilities seriously and he reminded the public of the 'Lukautim Pikinini Act', which carries severe penalties for negligence and abuse.
A jury trial is set for July in a federal child pornography case in the Northern Marianas.
The case is against Nicolas Franklin Salas Palacios, who faces charges of possession of and access with intent to view child pornography.
He has entered a plea of not guilty.
The indictment includes a forfeiture notice, signaling that if convicted, the accused may be required to forfeit specific items or face a money judgment as an alternative.
He remains detained at the Department of Corrections pending trial.
Starlink has been installed at Rotuma Government Station in Fiji, as part of a broader project to connect 10 rural and maritime government stations across the country.
Fiji's government said this technological advancement will allow civil servants to access real-time information and improve communication with headquarters, while also opening digital doors for nearby communities.
The initiative is also designed to improve coordination during emergency situations.
The Pacific Islands Forum secretary-general Baron Waqa is visiting New Zealand this week.
He will meet New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Pacific Peoples Minister Shane Reti.
Ulu o Tokelau Esera Tuisano will also make his first official visit to New Zealand, ahead of New Zealand and Tokelau celebrating a centenary of their constitutional relationship next year.
Peters said regular face-to-face dialogue is crucial for underpinning New Zealand's relationships throughout the region.
New Zealand is hosting the council of the University of the South Pacific on Monday.
Twelve Pacific countries will be represented at the meeting.
Pacific Peoples and Universities Minister Shane Reti said New Zealand's role as hosts reflects the country's steadfast commitment to advancing tertiary education through Pacific regionalism.
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RNZ News
9 hours ago
- RNZ News
Another child is sixth dengue-related death in Samoa
Photo: 123RF A sixth dengue-related death has been confirmed by health authorities in Samoa as case numbers continue to climb. Samoa's Ministry of Health has confirmed the sixth death which the Herald reported local officials confirming at the weekend was another child, this time a seven-year-old. The previous two deaths at the end of last month and the start of this month were a nine-year-old and his two-year-old brother . Figures released by the health ministry on Sunday show there have been 7970 clinically diagnosed dengue cases recorded in Samoa since January. Of these, 2743 are laboratory-confirmed. Eighty-eight per cent of reported cases have been from Upolu Island. Young people aged under 15 years old make up 72 per cent of all cases. Schools in Samoa are closed for a third straight week due to the outbreak, after first closing the week of 28 July with a fumigation campaign launched. The ministry said in the week from 4-10 August, 1974 clincally diagnosed cases were recorded from all health facilities in Upolu and Savai'i. New Zealand has sent a health team and $300,000 worth of medical supplies to Samoa to assist with the outbreak . Outbreaks have also been reported in several other Pacific countries. In Tonga, a study on dengue has found inconsistent prevention practices and misconceptions about the transmitting of the disease. It showed 94 percent of Tongans are aware of dengue, and 81 percent know Aedes mosquitoes are the cause. Ministry of Health CEO Dr Reynold Ofanoa shared a plan including household visits, village cleanups, and stronger local engagement. In Bangladesh, dengue has killed 101 people and infected more than 24,000 so far this year.
RNZ News
10 hours ago
- RNZ News
Pacific Islands race to contain 'largest dengue fever outbreak in a decade', as disease kills 18 people
By Lucy Cooper , Doug Dingwall , and Samoa reporter Adel Fruean Schools in Samoa have remained closed for a third week, as the country grapples with a dengue fever outbreak. Photo: Government of Samoa When all four of Taloa Lam Shong's children were struck down with dengue fever in Samoa , she was on high alert. "I was scared and worried, knowing dengue fever had claimed children's lives," she said. Nearly 8,000 people have been diagnosed with the disease in Samoa this year, with children accounting for more than 70 per cent of cases , and six deaths reported. "Many of our people have been infected with dengue fever, but I believe the children have borne the heaviest burden, as it has tragically claimed their lives," Ms Shong said. Taloa Lam Shong's children were infected with dengue fever this year. Photo: ABC News: Adel Fruean Cases are escalating fast in Samoa , which recorded more than 1,900 clinically diagnosed dengue cases last week. The Pacific's health authorities are scrambling to contain its spread across the region. It has killed 18 people, and the World Health Organization (WHO) says it is the largest outbreak in at least a decade. The Samoan National Emergency Operation Centre has undertaken a national dengue fever fumigation campaign across schools. Photo: Government of Samoa "This year has been another big peak of dengue, but the peak has been much bigger than any of the other peaks we've seen before," said Mark Jacobs, director of Pacific technical support at the WHO. Dengue fever is a viral infection transmitted between mosquitoes and humans, and outbreaks are often triggered by an infected person entering a country. When local mosquitoes bite them, they later transmit the disease by biting other people. Symptoms of dengue fever include high temperature, muscle aches, joint pain, nausea and vomiting. While most people recover within a week, in some cases worse symptoms arise after seven days - a sign that severe dengue fever is developing. Pacific Island communities have conducted rubbish clean-ups to reduce the habitats for mosquitoes spreading dengue fever. Photo: Supplied: World Health Organization "Really bad stomach pain, lots of vomiting, really rapid breathing, you can get bleeding from your gums, nose, or in your bowel movements, or in vomit," Dr Jacobs said. Samoan authorities are trying to contain the disease, fumigating schools and other facilities, and warning the public to take precautions. Public health programs are underway region-wide to prevent dengue fever. Photo: Supplied: Pacific Community "It is important to heed the advice from the Ministry of Health," Samoa's prime minister, Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, said in a video broadcast online last week. "Please seek immediate medical assistance if your child develops dengue fever symptoms, do not wait until it is too late. "Early treatment can save lives." Experts say dengue fever has spread across the Pacific as people carrying the infection have travelled across the region. American Samoa, Tonga, French Polynesia, Kiribati and Tuvalu are grappling with cases. And in Samoa, Cook Islands and Nauru, the outbreak is still growing. Samoan communities are clearing breeding habitats for mosquitoes to prevent dengue fever. Photo: Facebook: Samoa Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development In Nauru, the government said a 15-year-old boy and seven-year-old girl died on July 31 from dengue fever. Dr Jacobs said there had been 23,500 suspected cases of dengue fever, and more than 16,000 laboratory confirmed cases, across the Pacific this year. He said the region's climate made it vulnerable to outbreaks. "It can be easier for the mosquito to breed faster, or to pass on the virus to somebody when there's the right combination of temperature and humidity," Dr Jacobs said. Fiji has been the worst-hit among Pacific countries this year, reporting more than 14,000 suspected cases and 11,000 lab confirmed cases. But the outbreak in Fiji has peaked already and case numbers are decreasing. Environmental health officers in Fiji spray an area to prevent mosquitoes spreading dengue fever. Photo: Facebook: Fiji Ministry of Health and Medical Services Its tourism authority has warned visitors to take precautions, and says Fiji's popular tourist areas and resorts are treated for mosquitoes. "If they're coming across to Fiji and they're staying in a modern resort or island resort or similar to that, the owners, general managers and staff of those locations are taking all the precautions they possibly can and putting a lot of things in place," Tourism Fiji chief executive Brent Hill said. "We haven't had too many reports [of infection] coming back from tourists. "We take it seriously and we try and do everything we can to minimise the risk. "Sadly, the prevalence of dengue fever in places like Fiji is often in our villages and often in parts of Fiji where tourists don't go." Dr Jacobs said it was estimated about half the world's population lived in areas at risk of dengue fever, and that 100 to 400 million cases were recorded each year. Mark Jacobs says the number of dengue fever cases is still growing for many Pacific countries. Photo: Supplied: World Health Organization While there are no medications for it, experts say there are simple ways to avoid infection, including: "If you don't get bitten by mosquitoes, you don't get dengue," Dr Jacobs said. But he said people were not protected from severe cases if they had previously had dengue fever. "If you're getting dengue for the second time, you're much more likely to get severe dengue," he said. Experts say climate change will create more areas where mosquitoes can spread dengue virus. Photo: James Gathany/Center for Disease Control Dr Jacobs said anyone experiencing symptoms of severe dengue fever needed to act quickly. "If you go off and you get good quality care, then you're much less likely to die as a result of that." As the world awaits vaccines and medications for dengue fever, scientists looking to eliminate the disease are putting their hopes in bacteria called Wolbachia that live inside insects. University of Melbourne research fellow Perran Ross said they could block the transmission of viruses spread by mosquitoes. Perran Ross says Wolbachia bacteria are useful in preventing dengue fever outbreaks. Photo: ABC News: Lachlan Bennett "It actually alters the reproduction, so that when the male mosquitoes have Wolbachia and the female mosquitoes don't, they don't produce any viable offspring," he said. "If you get enough mosquitoes in the wild that carry the Wolbachia, that can actually reduce their ability to spread viruses." Dr Ross said it had been used in places like Queensland, and was the reason the state no longer had local dengue transmission. "The bacteria that are being released around the world, it's reducing dengue by more than 50 per cent in some locations," he said. But Dr Ross said climate change was complicating efforts to control dengue fever, by increasing the number of habitats where disease-carrying mosquitoes could live and breed. "We do expect dengue to get worse as things get warmer and wetter," he said. In Samoa, families are monitoring for symptoms of dengue fever. "Many children in our family were infected with dengue fever, including all five of my sister's children and my 15-year-old daughter," Faalaniga Repoamo, a mother of six, said. "When our daughter was sick, we didn't leave it until it was too late, we saw the symptoms and rushed her to seek help. "Parents should stay alert and identify the symptoms early and take them to the hospital before their condition worsens." - ABC
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Woman charged after toddler found in suitcase applies for permanent name suppression
The woman charged with ill-treatment of a child has appeared at the Auckland District Court. Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi The 27-year-old woman accused of putting a toddler in a suitcase in a bus luggage department in Kaiwaka has applied for permanent name suppression. The woman charged with ill-treatment of a child remains in custody. She appeared at Auckland District Court on Wednesday and was represented by Kate-Goodman Creed of Killian and Associates. In the dock, she faced away from the public gallery and media for the duration of her appearance. It can be reported her fitness to stand trial was raised. Judge Pippa Sinclair said she would review the application for permanent name suppression at a later hearing in October. The bus had stopped at this Kaiwaka carpark leading to the Tulip Cafe, Motel. Photo: Kim Baker Wilson / RNZ Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
