BY MAVIS N PODOKOLO
The number of flu-like illness or respiratory illness presented at the Emergency Ward, National Referral Hospital is now declining.
NRH Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr George Malefoasi said the decline began two weeks ago.
At the peak of the outbreak, 70 percent of cases presented to the emergency ward were flu-like or respiratory illness.
“Today’s (yesterday) update of the total 110 emergency presentation 24 or 2 percent only was respiratory illness. So we are slowly seeing decline in the number of patients present at the Emergency department but we will keep on tracking the number of cases that coming in,” he said.
Malefoasi said in terms of admission in the ward the number is quite low at the moment.
“During the first two weeks of the outbreak there were no admissions until the middle of the outbreak where cases more cases were started to start picked up. Around 16th to 18th August we have the highest of 12 patients admitted. Equally distributed amongst adults and kids.
“The latest now is we have about four patients currently admitted and two adult and two kids where are managing at the moment,” he said.
Malefoasi adds, nine patients had died from the outbreak.
“So out of the nine deaths four were confirmed related with influenza A strain at the moment the level of death are still very low,” he said.
Malefoasi echoed the above statements this week in a radio talk back show on the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation in Honiara
