10 people have been hospitalised after a typhoid outbreak in Auckland.
The Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) is tracing people who have been in contact with the confirmed cases and is following usual protocols to control the spread of the disease.
Medical Officer of Health Dr David Sinclair says typhoid is spread primarily through water and food but can be spread person to person. Dr Sinclair says good basic hand-washing is one of the best means of protecting yourself.
Symptoms include a high fever developing over several days, headaches, general weakness and muscle aches. Stomach pain and constipation are also common but some people get diarrhoea.
It can be a serious illness and is potentially fatal but it can be treated with antibiotics.
ARPHS has alerted the health sector to the outbreak. Dr Sinclair urges anyone with those symptoms feeling very unwell to see their doctor or an after-hours clinic.
Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) provides public health services on behalf of all three Auckland district health boards—Waitemata District Heath Board, Counties-Manukau Health and Auckland District Health Board, to the populations they serve.
Source: Auckland Regional Public Health Service