MORE than 70 villagers at Draubuta Village were screened by the Ministry of Health last week in its attempt to monitor and control an outbreak of typhoid that hospitalised nine villagers at the Sigatoka Hospital this month.
In a joint awareness program held at the village last week, a team made up of officials from the Health Ministry, police, Water Authority of Fiji, district office and the Navosa Provincial Council were deployed to the village to assist in the fight against typhoid.
Navosa district officer Atunaisa Keve said the joint operation was to prevent the communicable disease spreading to the remaining 400 villagers and their neighbours.
He said the four-day campaign was a success as villagers were educated on preventative measures and basic health tips.
"We have highlighted to the villagers the critical importance of sanitation by ensuring that proper care is taken of their water supply and their toilet facilities," said Mr Keve.
"During our awareness program discussions, we have also tried to identify some of the possible causes of typhoid at Draubuta.
"It is vital that the cause or causes are identified as soon as possible because the outbreak has resulted in nine villagers being admitted to hospital while eight more have been isolated as suspected cases.
"We are hopeful that after the past four days of awareness and screening, we are one step closer to successfully identifying the cause and eradicating the outbreak," he said.
National adviser communicable diseases Dr Mike Kama said the government team would prepare a report on their findings for submission to the Ministry of Health and relevant government sectors.
"Preliminary reports from the team indicate that there are no further cases of typhoid at the village," he said.