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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1986

Prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection in Tonga: identifying high risk groups for immunization with hepatitis B vaccine.

A serological survey for evidence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection was conducted in the Kingdom of Tonga as the first step in developing a strategy for an immunization programme. There were 414 individuals from the general population plus 137 pregnant women included in the survey. HBsAg was found in 20% of the general population and 88% had one or more serologic markers of HBV infection. In the 5-9 year age group, 80% of the children had one or more markers of HBV, and in the 10-19 year age group, the prevalence was 96.4%, indicating that most transmission of HBV in the Tongans studied occurs in the young. Of the pregnant women studied, 15% were positive for HBsAg, and 57% of those positive for HBsAg were also positive for HBeAg. Evidence of delta virus infection was not found in any of 82 HBsAg positive sera tested. Surveillance data suggested that significant serious sequelae to HBV infection (cirrhosis and primary hepatocellular carcinoma) also occur in Tonga. Immunization of infants and children is the most effective strategy for reducing or eliminating HBV infection and its sequelae in developing countries like Tonga.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Idioms of distress: kinship and sickness among the people of the Kingdom of Tonga.

"Idioms of distress" refers to the popular expression of emotional tension that arises in the relationship between 'sickness' and 'kinship'. By reference to case studies and discussions among the Polynesian people of Tonga, the author shows where such tension arises and how it influences the sickness process. Sickness is necessarily a collective phenomenon which can best be understood not simply as a clinical event, but as an experience that is part of the experience of 'family'. Various ways of expressing distress as a reflexive encounter between personal and cultural meaning systems are reviewed, as are several new concepts such as "doing sickness as kinship", and "turning" in the process of decision making in the kinship management of sickness. The explanatory models of sickness in Tonga are shown to encompass culturally sanctioned expressions of distress as part of of the adaptive coping mechanisms in that society. Distress frequently emerges in somatic form, as a number of studies have shown. However, the author emphasizes the "kinship meaning of sickness", "kinship management and sickness therapy", "the adaptive process of idiomatic expressions of distress", which are expanded here and offered as potential avenues for elaboration in other cultural milieu. Two aspects of the notion "idioms of distress" are noted, and the phenomenon is understood as a process which acts as a "prime mover" in social change.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1989

Aflatoxin levels in foodstuffs in Fiji and Tonga islands.

Fungal growth is a major problem of food storage in humid environments, as occur in South Pacific countries for parts of the year. Major crops, including edible nuts, copra and root crops, are susceptible to Aspergillus growth and therefore potential contamination with aflatoxin. Liver cancer occurs in Fiji and Tonga, with the occurrence in Fijians being significantly higher than in the Indian population. Thirty-three peanut samples from farmers were analysed for aflatoxin and 50% of the samples from Fiji were positive but only 9% from Tonga, reflecting different storage practices. Local copra, cassava, and maize samples were found contaminated, with only the maize at a serious level. Twenty-five plate food samples from Fiji showed low contamination. When starch foods from the Fijian diet left after cooking were analysed to follow potential aflatoxin development only sweet potatoes showed some contamination.

Aflatoxins↗
PubMed1987

Community priorities following disaster: a case study from Tonga.

Disaster victims have been thought to be disoriented and irrational to express their needs. Therefore they have been largely assessed through external observers. However, this study in the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga suggests that disaster victims were capable of prioritising their needs to guide the provision of immediate help and later rehabilitation programmes. Some inconsistencies in the experiences of this study sample compared to large developing population centres (e.g. low disease prevalence after the cyclone) highlight the need for special consideration of small island states separate from those of the developing continents. Overall, this study explored a method of giving the community an opportunity to participate in their rehabilitations after a disaster. The validity of this approach needs to be tested for other communities.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1984

Folk medicine in Tonga. A study of the use of herbal medicines for obstetric and gynaecological conditions and disorders.

We report on a study of the role of traditional medicinal practices in two communities in the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga, with particular emphasis on obstetric and gynaecological complaints of women and the traditional practitioners consulted by them. Data on the nature and frequency of obstetric and gynaecological complaints, patterns of consultations and preferences for the type of practitioner, Western or traditional, were collected from housewives. The nature, range and extent of expertise possessed by traditional practitioners were also assessed. The results indicate that reliance on traditional medicine is rapidly declining in favour of Western medicine. This seems to be due to urbanisation, increased acceptance of Western values and a lack of availability of traditional practitioners in sufficient numbers. However, self-administration of herbal remedies was still common, especially in rural areas, and might even be on the increase. The practitioners treated a variety of obstetric and gynaecological complaints using 60 plant species which were collected and identified.

Back Pain↗
PubMed1991

Herbal medicine in the Kingdom of Tonga.

A study of the indigenous medical practices of the Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific was carried out from 1983 to 1989 by interviewing over 50 traditional healers. A list of 105 plant species used medicinally in the culture was prepared, which includes scientific and tongan names, voucher specimen numbers, ailments treated and the reported frequency of usage for each plant and remedy. The uses recorded are compared to those published by previous authors in Polynesia.

Phytotherapy↗
PubMed1985

Control of diarrhoeal disease in Tonga 1978-83.

Tonga, like many developing countries, suffers from a shortage of medical staff and a high morbidity and mortality from paediatric diarrhoeal disease. In 1980 a programme was started to train medical assistants and village administrators in the correct use of oral rehydration salt solution for rehydration. The effect on morbidity, mortality, and admission to hospital over the six years 1978-83 was assessed. After the introduction of the scheme the number of deaths due to diarrhoea fell considerably and the state of hydration in children admitted to hospital with diarrhoea greatly improved. It is recommended that similar programmes be adopted where clinical problems of diarrhoea with dehydration persist. Instruction in the use of oral rehydration fluid was most effectively given by non-medical staff to groups of mothers, rather than by paediatricians in their inevitably brief, although important, explanation given in hospital.

Child↗
PubMed1978

Epidemiologic, clinical, and virologic observations on dengue in the Kingdom of Tonga.

An outbreak of dengue type 2 infection occurred in the Pacific island Kingdom of Tonga in 1974 and an outbreak of dengue type 1 occurred there in 1975. The 1974 outbreak was characterized by relatively mild clinical disease with few hemorrhagic manifestations, a low attack rate, and relatively low viremia levels. The 1975 outbreak was characterized by relatively severe disease with frequent hemorrhagic manifestations and a high attack rate. The differences between the outbreaks could not be attributed to differences in abudance of, or susceptibility to infection of, mosquito vectors or to the prior immune status or other characteristics of the human population. It appeared that a difference in viral virulence was the most likely explanation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Rheumatic heart disease and school screening: initiatives at an isolated hospital in Tonga.

A simple and inexpensive assessment of cardiac murmurs and school health problems was conducted in an isolated island in the kingdom of Tonga. The prevalence of rheumatic and congenital heart disease in the population of 'Eua was 0.5% and 0.15%, respectively. The incidence of rheumatic heart disease for 1985 was 0.8 per 1000 population. The screening of 1106 students, who were aged five to 12 years, showed skin disease to be the most important problem. All identified cases were treated and referred for follow-up. The total cost of this study was US $281.48. This exercise demonstrated an alternative approach to maximizing the use of health resources as well as maintaining the skill and morale of health workers in isolated areas.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Incidence of antibodies against human immunodeficiency virus, human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1, hepatitis B virus, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome virus and Chlamydia in Tonga and western Samoa.

Among the populations of Tonga and Western Samoa, serum antibodies against human immunodeficiency virus or hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome virus were not detected (0/904 and 0/192). No serum samples were considered to be positive for antibody against human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (0/527). Hepatitis B antigen and antibody were found in 4% (8/192) and 47% (90/192), respectively. Chlamydia trachomatis IgG and C. psittaci IgG antibodies were detected in 39% (75/192) and 47% (91/192), respectively. The possibilities of the spread of human immunodeficiency virus and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome virus on the islands when the viruses invade from abroad were discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Review of the village health worker pilot scheme in Tonga.

The village health worker (VHW) pilot scheme in Tonga was reviewed three months after implementation. The scheme was acceptable to the regional health workers and the communities the VHW were serving. There were demands from most for the VHW for the community to have more than one VHW, build a clinic, and to increase the emphasis on curative medicine. There was no demand for a health prevention or promotional role. The rate of recorded illnesses has increased but health seeking behaviour remained unchanged. This scheme has provided an opening for the Ministry of Health to implement equalizing strategies to merge the practice and the political rhetoric of primary health care and community participation.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The elderly in Tonga].

After some remarks concerning the geographical, social and political situation in Tonga, the authors present demographic data and report on the informal and formal systems of social security for the aged. Finally they discuss the effects of modern influences on the value-systems.

Aged↗
PubMed1985

Food consumption pattern during a drought in Tonga.

Seven and eight year old primary school children were interviewed to rapidly assess food consumption patterns during a drought in Tonga. Of the 158 children interviewed, 11 (7%) reported hunger in their households and four (2.4%) reported one meal per day. Carbohydrate consumption was high but protein and vegetables were low. This simple study provided crude but useful and timely information for decision making.

Child↗
PubMed1979

Malaria in Tonga: an imported case.

A case of falciparum malaria in Tonga occurring in a tourist is reported and discussed with the emphasis on awareness of imported diseases to the Pacific.

Antimalarials↗
PubMed1974

Hyperendemic bancroftian filariasis in the Kingdom of Tonga: the application of the membrane filter concentration technique to an age-stratified blood survey.

A survey carried out in Tonga, an area of hyperendemic subperiodic Wuchereria bancrofti filariasis, compared the diagnostic efficiency of the membrane-filtration and stained blood film techniques. Membrane filter concentration of 1 ml blood revealed a microfilaria rate that was approximately the same for all age groups, from 5 to 9 years old to greater than 50 years old, about 70%. The microfilaria rate by examination of stained 60 mm-3 thick blood films was lower for all age groups. Membrane filter concentration detected 7.8 times as many infections as thick film diagnosis in the 5- to 20- and 21- to 50-year-old groups, and 1.6 times in the greater than 50-year-old group. Concentration revealed the prsence of microfilariae in the blood of 5 of 8 patients with gross elephantiasis, whereas microfilariae were found in the stained thick-film of only 1 of these individuals.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Some traditional Tonga eye remedies.

Tonga eye syndromes, aetiological concepts, and eye drops are presented. The attitude of a group of Secondary School Students to common traditional eye drops are presented together with ocular findings in a group of users and alleged non-users. No statistically significant difference was found between the groups. Not all traditional eye drops are dangerous, and a positive education approach is suggested to improve ocular health.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Incidence of hepatitis B-antigenaemia and positive alphafoetoprotein in New Zealand, Western Samoa and Tonga--(a pilot study of Polynesian liver disease).

A pilot study was carried out to determine the nature of Polynesian liver disease by a study of blood donors and liver biopsy material from natives in Samoa, Tonga and Auckland, New Zealand. The data is suggestive that the Hepatitis B carrier state and hepatoma are greater in Polynesians than in Europeans. One familial hepatoma in two Maori brothers at ages of 11 and 13 years are reported.

Adolescent↗