Kreetika Kumar 
A person has died from typhoid fever, as the Health Ministry has announced an outbreak in Lau Settlement in Ra.
Six cases of typhoid fever from three linked households in the settlement have been reported from September to December.
Three of the people with typhoid were admitted to Rakiraki Hospital.
While one person has died, the other five have recovered after treatment.
The Ministry has a team on the ground from the Ra Sub-divisional Outbreak Response Team actively responding to the situation.
Response measures undertaken so far include contact tracing and follow-up, community awareness, house-to house inspections, direct supervision of mass gatherings, and water sampling.
The Ministry will also be providing field latrines to address identified sanitation issues.
There will also be a mass screening of the people in the settlement to identify cases.
The Ministry is working to provide the typhoid conjugate vaccine to prevent further spread and cases in the future in this settlement.
The Ministry is advising against any non-essential travel to Lau Settlement in Ra as a precaution to prevent further infections and the spread of typhoid to other parts of Fiji.
The symptoms of typhoid include high fever, weakness, general discomfort (malaise), stomach pain, diarrhea, headache, loss of appetite, and persistent cough.
