Category PRESS RELEASE

PR 28/24

Date: 29/08/2024

PRESS RELEASE

Local Cardiologists Enhance Skills Through Training with International Expert

Local interventional cardiologists Dr Shahin Nusair and Dr Bharat Bali recently had the opportunity to better their skills in percutaneous coronary intervention with experienced visiting South African cardiologist, Dr Joe Boudenstein.

Percutaneous coronary intervention is a non-surgical procedure to treat narrowing or blockages of the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart muscle.

Dr Boudenstein provided practical training for cardiologists at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital, focusing on complex cardiac cases.
Impressed by the high standard of work and knowledge of the local cardiac doctors, Dr Boudenstein mentioned that they could handle complex cases but could benefit from coaching on better approaches.

Sharing his first-time experience in Fiji, Dr. Boudenstein praised the expertise of cardiac doctors in Fiji and the Pacific, emphasizing their commendable ability to work effectively with limited resources.

Dr. Sukafa Matanaicake, a Consultant Physician at CWMH, stated that Dr Boudenstein’s training and guidance reassured our local doctors in handling complex cardiac cases.

She highlighted the importance of learning from doctors in densely populated and developed countries, as they have extensive experience dealing with complex cases due to the large volume of patients they see.

In CWM Hospital, there are many patients with severe cardiac disease, contributing to more complex cases, some of whom are difficult to manage. She attributed this phenomenon to factors such as delays in presentation, inability to access or provide optimal treatment and intervention at the appropriate time, and lifestyle.
Dr. Matanaicake stressed the importance of lifestyle modification in preventing diseases. Unhealthy habits will lead to non-communicable diseases, including heart disease.

While acknowledging that treatment and intervention can help people live longer, Dr. Matanaicake urged Fijians to review and implement preventive measures to avoid these diseases altogether.

The team treated 15 complex cardiac cases in the week with the assistance of Dr Boudenstein.

Meanwhile, Dr Boudenstein’s travel to Fiji was funded by multinational companies that are partners with the Ministry of Health and Medical Services.

ENDS.

PR 25/24

Date: 16/08/2024

PRESS RELEASE

Ministry Releases Updated HIV / AIDS Stats

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services has recorded 552 new cases of HIV from January to June 2024. The HIV cases are seen from every division of Fiji, with Central recording 380, Western 151, Northern 19, and Eastern 2 new HIV cases each. While sexual transmission is known to be the primary transmitting means for HIV in Fiji, as seen in 2024, 85 of the 552 cases were transmitted through Injectable Drug use(these are individuals who have identified themselves as using injectable drugs), which is 15% of the total cases till June 2024.

The numbers we are seeing, in comparison to 2023, are already 33% higher than the national HIV cases identified in 2023. Fiji should not be alarmed by this increase, as efforts have been made to increase nationwide testing and treatment. A significant increase is anticipated before the fall, as the MHMS has implemented and continues to strengthen its strategies to improve national testing, enrolment into care for HIV, and necessary communications.

In 15 to 19 years, we diagnosed 50 new persons living with HIV (9%); in 20-24 years, 137 new persons living with HIV (24.8%) and in 25-29 years, 128 new persons living with HIV, at 23%. The latest HIV cases are predominantly seen in individuals less than 39 years of age (73%), though it does not exempt individuals greater than 40 years of age.

So far in 2024, we have noted 13 deaths from HIV-related Illnesses from the period of January to June, while we recorded around 82 in 2023. In this era of HIV, one needs to know that HIV is NOT a death sentence and treatment is available. We encourage individuals nationwide to get themselves tested and, most importantly, to know their test results. If they are positive, they should seek treatment early rather than later. If negative, continue to practice safe sexual behaviour and not engage in activities such as Bluetoothing and Chemsex to prevent transmission related to injectable drug use.

The MHMS strongly encourages all individuals in Fiji to know your HIV status, let’s not be naive to our status. HIV, while it cannot be cured, has treatment available, and one does not need to die from it.

ENDS

PR 24/24

Date: 15/08/2024

Ministry Prepares for Mpox

The Director General of the World Health Organization has determined that the recent increase in cases of mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a growing number of countries in Africa, constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). An emergence of a new strain or ‘clade’ (clade Ib) of mpox is thought to be driving the outbreak in the Eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, with cases also reported in neighboring countries of Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire.

Since the last global health emergency for mpox in 2022, case numbers of mpox in regions outside Africa have been low in 2024.

According to the latest WHO Situation Report (August 12^th), of the 934 confirmed mpox cases reported globally this year in the month of June, 567 were from the African Region, with 96% of these cases in Africa reported from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

An increase in cases, and the new clade Ib, have not yet been reported outside of Africa, however, the recent upsurge in cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with rapidly increasing cases in neighboring countries, are of concern, with risk of further spread in Africa and beyond.

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services has protocols and guidelines in place for mpox that were established at the time of the WHO declaration of the mpox global public health emergency in 2022.

Training of healthcare workers was conducted at that time, and annual training in infectious disease outbreak response continues to be conducted by Fiji CDC.

In response to this mpox global health emergency declaration by the WHO, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services is convening the Communicable Disease Committee to review the global situation, review Fiji’s current prevention, preparedness and response measures that were established during the 2022 mpox global public health emergency and implement necessary actions such as retraining of healthcare workers.

As in 2022, response will focus on strengthened case identification and surveillance to identify and manage cases early.

Mpox is spread by close contact, including sexual contact, and contact with mpox lesions and body fluids, as well as contaminated material such as bedding and surfaces.

Mpox is usually a mild and self-limiting illness, which means that most people recover with supportive treatment (i.e. focused on symptom relief) within several weeks, along with infection prevention and control measures to reduce risk of spread to others. However, previous outbreaks in endemic African countries have shown that severe illness can occur in some individuals, including those with compromised immune systems, young children, and pregnant women.

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services advises travelers to affected countries to take precautions to avoid close contact with people who have symptoms of mpox. Anyone who develops a fever and body aches followed by a blistering rash (similar to chicken pox) after recent international travel should seek medical attention and inform their doctor of their recent travel history.

Mpox remains a legislated national notifiable disease, and all medical professionals are reminded that early notification to the Ministry of Health and Medical Services is critical to preventing and controlling outbreaks. Laboratory testing of samples for suspected cases of mpox is still available at Fiji CDC, and to date there have been no confirmed cases reported in Fiji.

The Ministry will continue to maintain surveillance for early detection of cases, monitor the global situation, and work with the WHO and our partner agencies to adapt the response as necessary for any further developments.

END

11/05/2024

Ministry of Health and Medical Services Responds to News Article by the Fiji Times on the AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services is aware that AstraZeneca has recently announced that it has withdrawn its COVID-19 vaccine worldwide citing a surplus of available updated vaccines that target new variants of the virus. There has been a drop in demand for the AstraZeneca vaccine as it is less effective than newer vaccines against the latest variants.

The statement by the Fiji Times (11/05/24) that this vaccine was banned in Australia needs correcting. The Australian Government’s Therapeutic Goods Administration stated on April 24th, 2024, that AstraZeneca had voluntarily cancelled the vaccine from the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) and the “cancellation of this vaccine from the ARTG was a business decision of the company, due to no current or anticipated future demand for the vaccine, and follows similar business decisions made overseas”. The Ministry urges vigilance by the media in using credible sources of information for their news reports.

The AstraZeneca vaccine (known as Vaxzevria or Covishield) was used in Fiji from March 2021 to February 2022, and its rapid rollout during the Delta outbreak in 2021 saved many lives. The AstraZeneca vaccine has not been available in Fiji since February 2022, as stocks had depleted, and the Ministry had acquired the Moderna and then Pfizer vaccines, which were more effective against the Omicron variant.

To be clear, a new side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine has not been discovered. The very rare but serious side effect of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), a rare blood clotting disorder, is not a new risk. It was identified by international health authorities in 2021 and communicated to the Fijian public by the Ministry in March 2021, before the start of Fiji’s COVID-19 Delta Variant outbreak. This very rare side effect was estimated to affect 2-3 in every 100,000 people and occurred between 4 and 42 days of receiving the first dose of the vaccine. At the time, the risk of becoming infected with the virus and dying was much higher than this rare side effect from the vaccine. During the Delta outbreak people that were not vaccinated were dying from COVID-19 at rates more than 10 times higher than those that were fully vaccinated. Sadly, many who chose not to vaccinate were influenced by the misinformation and disinformation being spread about COVID-19 vaccines.

By the end of 2021, 698 people had died from COVID-19 in Fiji, there is no doubt that many more would have died without the AstraZeneca vaccine.
As it has done in the past, the Ministry will continue to ensure that the latest in medications including vaccines are made available to the population, and any inherent risk associated with such medications and vaccines are communicated well to the public.