The introduction of the Northland menW vaccine will require many employees

The short-notice deployment of the meningococcal vaccine in Northland will require a lot of personnel, possibly including New Zealand's army.

Northland District Health Board General Manager Nick Chamberlain said the board had contacted New Zealand's defense forces about teams of doctors attending the "logistical feat." "of administering the blows in dozens of clinics.

A spokesman then said it was unlikely the NDHB needed the defense forces, but a full needs assessment was under way.

Northland has reached the threshold of the Ministry of Health indicating "an epidemic", the government announced Monday a free vaccination program.

The region has the highest number of male strain cases per population in New Zealand, with seven of the country's 29 cases and three of six deaths in the country.

"The only effective way to manage this outbreak is to use a vaccination program," Chamberlain said yesterday.

He said the government-approved vaccination program would help avoid the "dark days" of a large meningococcal epidemic in the 1990s, which he attended as a doctor.

Providing dozens of agglomerations in Northland with vaccination clinics will require the deployment of school nurses and other health personnel outside of their regular work to vaccinate 20,000 young children and adolescents for three weeks and seven days on seven.

This has already been done before, said Chamberlain, referring to similar campaigns in 2004/5 and 2011.

With only 20,000 doses of vaccine available, two age groups are targeted – the most at risk from 9 months to less than 5 years old and 13 to 19 years old, the latter being identified as carriers and exchangers of higher bacteria levels than other age groups.

This would provide protection where it was needed most and have the greatest immediate impact on the spread of the disease, said DNHB pediatrician Ailsa Tuck.

The BNDH is trying to obtain another set of doses so that the average age group of children can be vaccinated early next year.

"We know that parents in this group are going to be worried," Tuck said.

The main message is to be extra vigilant about children's illness and to see a doctor early. MenW does not show typical meningococcal symptoms, but the patient quickly becomes extremely ill.

Four of Northland's cases occurred in September and no link was found between the seven local cases. Up to 20% of the population can carry the meningococcal bacteria in the throat or nasal passages without getting sick, but can spread it.

Chamberlain defended the DHB against claims that he did not act quickly enough. He added that the first two cases in adults in May did not mean an outbreak in the community.

& # 39; & # 39; The assertion that we should have done something earlier is unfair. & # 39; & # 39;

The committee's microbiologist, David Hammer, warned staff at the time of the two cases and told the media yesterday that his "intuition" was that cases would increase.

However, the presence of the disease did not become a public health problem until the MoH criterion of 10 cases per 100,000 population was reached.

& # 39; & # 39; We must wait for the status of epidemic. But, absolutely, we want to vaccinate and we wish we could have started earlier, "said Chamberlain.

The DHB will pay at the beginning of the free campaign which will cost between 1 and 2 million dollars. The Ministry of Health will reimburse most of the costs.

Parents of children aged five to thirteen or members of the community who wish to be vaccinated now can pay privately the vaccine provided by their general practitioner.

In the meantime, if the army was invoked, it would not be the first time that the two men would work together. In 2014, the Defense Force Dental Staff worked with NDHB on the Wisdom Tooth Exercise, which runs dental clinics for high-need residents of the North.

Free vaccination clinics will be held in schools and community centers, and schedules and venues will be announced in the media and online forums starting tonight.