Scientists to investigate NZ's low rates of immunisation

By REBECCA WALSH and NZPA

New Zealand's low immunisation rates will soon be investigated in a two-year project run by Auckland University.

The study, paid for by the Health Research Council, will look specifically at what primary healthcare services are doing to ensure children are immunised.

Dr Cameron Grant, associate professor of paediatrics in the faculty of medical and health sciences, said New Zealand had not achieved the coverage of other countries and had higher hospital admission rates for vaccine-preventable diseases.

"In Auckland one baby each year for the past five years has died of whooping cough and we have many babies needing intensive care because of this vaccine-preventable disease," he said.

Dr Grant, a paediatrician at Starship children's hospital, said whooping cough and many other diseases did not "necessarily respect" improved standards of living. Immunisation was the cheapest and most effective way of preventing young babies getting such diseases.

* Notified cases of meningococcal disease in New Zealand have dropped by at least half this year, health board figures show.

So far there have been 194 notified cases and five deaths, compared with 319 cases and six deaths at the same time last year.

Bay of Plenty Medical Officer of Health Phil Shoemack said that nationally the pattern of the epidemic had been the same for several years, with more than 50 per cent of those diagnosed aged under 5.

Regionally there has also been a drop.

The number of notified cases of the disease in the Bay of Plenty and Lakes District Health Board areas is 17 so far this year, compared with 78 for all last year.