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Source: ONE News
A flu epidemic which has swept through the tiny, isolated Pacific island of Tokelau has been contained.
One in 10 of the islanders have been struck down by the illness and New Zealand medics are en route to the small archipelago to treat the ill and administer influenza vaccines to all 1,450 residents.
But the journey is a long one as Tokelau has no airport, seaport or roads, and it is 26 hours by boat from its nearest neighbour, Samoa.
"The nurse and her assistant are on the boat now but it will take some time," said Tokelau's director of health, Lee Pearce, who is based in Samoa.
"But in the meantime we can say it's well-controlled and contained, and the number of new cases reported everyday is dropping quickly."
Tokelau, a territory of New Zealand, is made up of three coral atolls which occupy just 12 square kilometres of land.
Islanders first reported the outbreak in mid-March and more than 150 people have been affected so far. Dr Pearce said most of the ill were children, and four had been hospitalised.
"That is particularly worrying as children and elderly are the most vulnerable to severe illness," she said.
She said the country's extreme isolation and small population meant the flu had hit locals particularly hard.
"When this type of outbreak happens in countries like Australia the numbers just get absorbed by the larger population, but when there are so few people and immunity is so low it is really felt," Pearce said.
Experts say it is very unlikely the virus originated from the island, and was presumably carried there by a visitor.
The population would be vaccinated annually from this year on, to ensure such an outbreak is not repeated, the director said.
