Festive season effects
By Silafaga Lalua
More than 200 sick people crowded at the Princess Margaret Hospital outpatient yesterday in an effort to see a doctor.
Acting Director of Health Dr. Stephen Homasi told Tuvalu news that a viral illness is going around and had many people sick over the weekend, and with Monday and Tuesday being public holidays, most people did not seek medical help but waited until yesterday morning when work started again.
Doctors at the national hospital are momentarily down to 2 but they managed to get through the 200 something patients by early yesterday afternoon.
According to Dr. Homasi diarrhea and flu seem to be the major problems affecting these sick people, but there are also cases of mumps and red eyes.
He explained that it is after partying over the weekend that people tend to eat left over food and drinks that are not properly heated and boiled.
He stated that children were a good number of the outpatients; therefore he urges parents to avoid taking their children to big gatherings of people and if there are sick children in the family, to isolate them ? just to prevent illnesses from spreading to the rest of the family.
The two doctors expect to get help by the middle of next month, when one of the doctors joins them. The rest of the team will resume work at the end of January 2007.
ENDS
