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Pacific Briefs
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Posted on Jan 05 2001
Marshalls cholera expected to spread
MAJURO, Marshall Islands – Health officials fear a cholera outbreak on Ebeye may spread to other islands.
So far, five people have died and more than 200 have been hospitalized on the Kwajalein Atoll island.
Health secretary Donald Capelle said, “We’ll have to mobilize and go by plane and make sure that medical supplies, like antibiotics, are available on the outer islands.”
Travel from Ebeye to other areas in the Marshalls has been restricted.
One in 5 Fiji kids underfed: Unicef
SUVA, Fiji Islands – Twenty percent of Fiji’s children are undernourished, and four out of 10 live in extreme poverty, according to the UNICEF State of the World’s Children Report 2001.
UNICEF identifies poverty as the primary reason why children not only are malnourished but also are abused and exploited and miss school.
The report also states that 12 percent of Fiji children born between 1995 and last year had below average birth weights.
Old bomb kills 1, injures 3
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea – A bomb from World War II exploded in the Trobriand Islands Monday, killing a man and injuring three children.
Two girls, 11 and 15, and a seven-month-old baby boy were seriously injured.
They were flown to Port Moresby General Hospital for medical care.
According to islanders, the family found the bomb in a garden and were using it as a cooking stand when it exploded.
Fiji downplays New Zealand health warning
SUVA, Fiji Islands – The Fiji Visitors Bureau says an alert issued by New Zealand regarding an outbreak of leptospirosis is out of date.
The bureau said the disease, restricted to a remote area, is under control and should not be a matter of concern for New Zealanders or any others who intend to visit the country.
Leptospirosis causes high fever. The disease is spread by rats and other mammals. (Pacific Islands Report)
