Residents living in areas affected by the measles outbreak in Fiji have called for those with the disease to be quarantined at hospitals, or medical centres, instead of in their homes.
Parents in Fiji have been urged to vaccinate their children against measles. Photo: Fiji govt/Facebook
The Ministry of Health has confirmed seven cases of measles in the Serua and Namosi areas.
Patricia Nancy Raibevu, from the Wailali Wainadoi Settlement in Navua, was among those quarantined since the outbreak was declared two weeks ago.
The 20-year-old has since recovered and said while residents had heeded advice from the authorities, confusion and frustration was growing among the public.
"Most of us, we are angry because they've been asking the nurses to take the sick people away to the hospitals to be isolated so that the disease won't spread everywhere.
"In this place, we can't stop anyone from coming in and going out because people come and visit every time."
Ms Raibevu had asked medical officers who visited the settlement to take those affected to the hospital.
"They just said if the person is vaccinated then it's okay," she said.
"The other frustration is somehow some people, who are already vaccinated, are still showing symptoms of the disease."
Other members of Ms Raibevu's family had also been diagnosed with the disease, including two of her aunts.
She described a unsettling experience while infected.
"One afternoon I was laying down and I felt my body was getting hot. I went and had a shower to cool off and when I went to bed that night I woke up at midnight and noticed my face was swollen."
Ms Raibevu said during her quarantine, she was placed on medication and told not to leave her house.
Her family had to leave the home.
"I had to stay in a room all day while my family moved to my nana's place. My aunty had to cook my food and she would leave it at the doorstep and return to her home.
"After she left then I was able to open the front door and bring my food in."
Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama and Health Minister Ifereimi Waqainabete. Photo: Fiji govt/Facebook
Since her ordeal, Ms Raibevu had been helping other families in the settlement learn and talk more about measles and what they needed to do to help themselves.
She believed everyone at Wailali had been vaccinated but 10 households in the settlement remained quarantined.
Ms Raibevu said they had been allowed to go to the nearby store but were told not to take more than two hours.
"[Health officials] said if we stay there for more than two hours, the disease might spread," she said. "We are curfewed from going out. We have to stay inside the compound and no outsiders are allowed to come inside."
Ms Raibevu said there was confusion over who was cleared and who was allowed to go out or not.
For the Liku family, at Wailali settlement, the experience has left them isolated from their neighbours and extended families.
Makarita Liku's four-month-old son is recovering at home after he was admitted at Navua Hospital two weeks ago for contracting measles.
She said her baby started to develop rashes, a fever and his eyes turned red so she took him to the hospital.
"We were advised by doctors that we will be isolated in a room while they treated my son because he had measles," she said.
"My son started to recover and we were released. The doctors gave us medication and they told us to remain inside the house."
Ms Liku said it had also caused them huge embarrassment because the family was being frowned upon for "bringing the disease to the settlement".
"My son is believed to be the first to have measles in the country," she said. "Our families and other people living in the settlement say they don't want to have anything to do with us because they believe we brought the disease here.
"Our side of the settlement has been labelled the measles side."
Ms Liku said her two sister-in-laws had the measles and were isolated in a room in their home next door. Her brother and her father-in-law were unable to go to work because there was a curfew imposed on the family.
"But we have been vaccinated and yet we are not allowed to go anywhere," she said. "They are our breadwinners. We are struggling to make ends meet."
Earlier this week, the health ministry said in a statement that vaccination stocks should be used for the most vulnerable groups first, including any child who had not yet received the recommended two doses.
It urged those living in Serua/Namosi, and over six months of age, to receive a dose regardless of prior vaccination status.
People visiting the area have also been urged to get vaccinated at least two weeks before travel.
Attempts to get further comment from the Minister of Health and senior ministry staff have been unsucessful.
