Residents of Wainadoi on the outskirts of Navua are living in fear following confirmed cases of measles in the area.

Those residing in Wailali Settlement say the isolation and quarantine process has restricted them from their daily movements, such as not reporting to work or attending school, which went on a break last week.

The quarantine measures were taken by the Health Ministry to ensure the disease is confined.

Mother of two, Susan Morris thought her eldest son Angelo was just having a normal fever until a trip to the doctors proved otherwise.

“He had bad cough and also he had rashes all over his body with red eyes. He had it for two weeks. So the time my husband took him to the hospital – actually they didn’t know it was measles. We thought it was just dengue fever. So he got his shot there.”

Morris says her whole family was later vaccinated but they remained in isolation for about a fortnight.

“The police came and told us not to go anywhere – they just wanted us to stay in our homes because they said if you go out we might spread the disease.”

The youngest Fijian to contract measles in the settlement was a four-month-old baby.

Mother Makereta Liku says health officials and police have been monitoring her baby’s situation closely since his release from the Navua Hospital.

“He started having really bad rashes along with really high fever. His temperature wasn’t normal. The mucus that he started to cough out was not the kind you would expect from a child. As soon as we went to the hospital – we were referred to the emergency department. We were isolated to one room until a doctor came and confirmed it was measles.  We were quarantined for a week and they kept monitoring me and my baby. If I didn’t present him in time, he could have died.”

Wainadoi resident, Etuate Lala’s daily work for his faith has also not been spared.

“It’s unfortunate that we cannot carry out our missionary work in the restricted areas that were under quarantine. The affected people were isolated for at least two weeks. We didn’t see them but we just prayed for them especially the children.”

The number of confirmed measles cases in the country remains at 13.

The latest are a 22-year-old from Wailali Settlement and a 16-year-old from Navunikabi, both in the Serua/Namosi Subdivision.

Meanwhile, the University of Fiji Graduation planned for December 6th has been postponed due to the recent measles outbreak.