12 Oct 2015

Tonga school sends boarders home after typhoid scare

3:06 pm on 12 October 2015

A school in Tonga has closed its boarding house and sent boarders home as a typhoid case was confirmed.

The principal of Beulah College at Vaini, Tongatapu, Mele Vaihola, told Matangi Tonga classes will continue as usual but 70 percent of the 357 students, who are boarders, have been sent home.

She says food is always being brought into the school from outside for the boarders to eat, and the nearby typhoid case meant there was a risk to all students.

Typhoid fever is highly contagious and can be fatal if left untreated.

The village has also suspended large gatherings and feasts.

no caption

Photo: RNZ