SUVA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- A quarter of Fiji's population has scabies and children with that disease tend to be more vulnerable to rheumatic heart disease, according to Fiji's Health Minister Ifereimi Waqainabete.

According to Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) on Wednesday, Waqainabete said in the parliament on Tuesday that scabies infection in children allows bacteria damages to their heart and kidney and is a common cause of rheumatic heart disease.

A survey conducted in 2007 in the island nation showed that almost one-quarter of Fiji's population had scabies infection, according to the health minister.

Fiji has a population of around 900,000 people. Of all those infected, 45 percent were children between the ages of 5 to 9.

Fiji's second-largest island Vanua Levu recorded the highest prevalence of 28.5 percent, which is higher among children with figures up to 45 percent.

Waqainabete said the study was conducted in collaboration with an Australian-based research institute, which has discovered that one in two children in Fiji developed a new infestation of scabies annually.

In response, the Health Ministry conducted a Mass Drug Administration by visiting rural areas where the vulnerable were treated with tablets and cream.

Waqainabete said the cream caused a decrease in scabies spread and 94 percent of those that took tablets were completely healed 14 to 21 days later, according to tests. Enditem

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