Six cases of Paratyphoid Fever have now been confirmed by Hawke’s Bay District Health Board, today (26 September).
Five confirmed cases have required hospital care at Hawke’s Bay Hospital, and another has needed treatment in Auckland. All patients are recovering with treatment.
At least three of the cases are known to have eaten mussels gathered from Napier’s Ahuriri area, and the district health board is continuing to investigate other cases.
Medical Officer of Health Nick Jones said Paratyphoid Fever was a serious illness and a notifiable disease. “It’s very important people heed the warnings and don’t eat shellfish gathered from the Napier Marina area.”
People with the disease will have a fever, chills, headache, possibly a rash and may also get severe vomiting and diarrhoea.
Paratyphoid generally occurs within 10 days of consuming contaminated food or water but symptoms may take as long as four weeks to develop. Anyone feeling sick and who has eaten shellfish from the Napier Marina area should contact their family doctor or they could call HealthLine 24/7 0800 611 116.
Dr Jones said the district health board had teams out in the community working to follow-up with anyone that was sick, but the most important thing was to get medical help if you, or someone you knew, was sick.
“People with Paratyphoid can carry the bacteria in their blood and in their stomach and gut so it is possible for it to be passed on through faeces. Hand washing was extremely important to help prevent infecting other people as you can get Paratyphoid if you eat or drink things that have been handled by a person who has the bacteria,” Dr Jones said.
More information on how to protect yourself and others is available from here: www.ourhealthhb.nz
