SUVA, May 26 (Xinhua) -- A total of 23,489 Fijian children and teenagers have been immunized against meningococcal C under the National Meningococcal Immunisation Program which started from May 14 and will continue until June 29, said a statement released by Fiji's Ministry of Health on Saturday.
The campaign, led by the ministry and supported by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), aims to vaccinate up to 325,000 children and teenagers aged 1-19 years old against meningococcal C disease in the island nation.
The immunization program targets all children and teenagers and is currently being delivered at all schools, health centers and nursing stations in the central part of the nation, and will roll out to the other parts of the nation.
Fiji has a population of more than 800,000.
Fijian health authorities confirmed earlier this month that there were 58 reported cases of meningococcal from Jan. 1 to April 22.
There have been four confirmed deaths from the meningococcal disease this year in the age group of less than five years old.
Meningococcal disease is a life-threatening disease, which usually causes meningitis. For older children and adults common symptoms include sudden fever, vomiting, headache, stiff neck and backache.
For babies, symptoms generally include fever, neck stiffness, irritability, drowsiness, and vomiting.