Two a penny

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NZ ‘not too flash’ in immunisation report

– Monday, 26 January 2009

Kiwi babies are among the least vaccinated in the developed world, a new international report reveals. . It equalled the others.
Of the six immunisations for one-year-old babies, New Zealand was well below the developed world average for four of them. In the developed world, 98 per cent had received it by that age and in the least developed countries, 76 per cent had received it.
In the worst example, only 79 per cent of one-year-olds had received immunisation against measles. We're 33 out of 35 developed countries," Immunisation Advisory Centre research director Helen Petousis-Harris said.
"We're pretty low."
An Auckland University study showed poverty was a major factor where immunisation rates were low.
"And certainly, compared with a lot of the developing countries which have mass campaigns, we don't come up too flash.
The country's Third World rates of immunisation against measles were "too low to prevent ongoing epidemics", the Ministry of Health said.
Misinformation about immunisation was "alive and well in New Zealand" and also played a part in the low rates, Petousis-Harris said.
The chief adviser on child and youth health for the Ministry of Health, Dr Pat Tuohy, said the Unicef figures were "substantially correct". It has pinned some of the blame on more families with two working parents not having the time to immunise their babies.
Publicity suggesting, incorrectly, that the measles vaccination caused autism had hit the rates of immunisation.
"The current coverage rate for measles is too low to prevent ongoing epidemics," Tuohy said.
"For example, in the situation where both parents are working, they can find it difficult to get their children immunised because their only free time to do so is after-hours or on Saturday mornings.
"We are aware that some barriers remain even though immunisation is free," Tuohy said.
However, Petousis-Harris said the Government was still a long way off its aim of having 95 per cent of babies fully immunised by age two."
Since the Government made improving immunisation coverage one of 10 health targets in July 2007, there had been a "dramatic" 9 per cent increase in immunisation rates, Tuohy said. We've got a lot of things that we need to be working on to do better," she said.
"We just haven't got there."
Whooping cough (pertussis), a disease particularly severe on small babies, was on the rise as a result of the poor rates of immunisation.
"Immunisations generally don't go to people, people have to go to the immunisations.
The Unicef report showed New Zealand lagging the developed world (98 per cent) by 7 percentage points for rates of immunisation against pertussis.
The Unicef report showed New Zealand lagging the developed world (98 per cent) by 7 percentage points for rates of immunisation against pertussis.
The improvement in New Zealand's under-five child mortality rates from 21 per cent in 1970 to 11 per cent in 1990 to 6 per cent in 2007 fell almost perfectly in line with the developed world.
A child mortality rate of 6 per cent put the country on a par with Britain, Australia and Canada but behind Israel, the Netherlands, France and Germany.
The mortality rate for under-one-year-olds had also fallen from 9 per cent in 1990 to 5 per cent in 2007.

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Da Vinci’s soggy seabird free as a bird

By PAUL McBETH Tuesday, 20 January 2009

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ABSOLUTELY AIRBORNE: David Hyams takes off and heads seaward in his bamboo and cloth contraption over Wellington Harbour. Moments later, it crumpled into the harbour, a soggy mess. Then the flying contraption crumpled into the harbour in a soggy mess.

Leonardoda Vincidesigned it, a Wellington man built it, and a crowd of hundreds cheered it and for a couple of metres it soared.
Hundreds lined the waterfront yesterday to watch Mr Hyams' attempt to fly a model of one of Leonardo's flying machines above Wellington Harbour.
Applause turned to laughter as "pilot" David Hyams followed the advice of the crowd by steering clear of the sun in his bid to fly like Icarus. "If you conceive it, plan it and promote it, you fly it.
Being the architect of the experiment, and with some hang-gliding experience to his name, Mr Hyams felt he was the one to take the risk.
The attempt was part of the Birdman Family Flying Fiesta at Frank Kitts Park and a promotion for the Leonardo da Vinci Machines Exhibition at the New Zealand School of Fine Art on Queens Wharf."
The model, built in two weeks out of split moss bamboo and cloth, was based on Leonardo's glider, but Mr Hyams said that, to have a realistic chance of flying, it would need a wingspan of 14 metres, a tail and a harness for the pilot. If organisers can secure sponsorship before the end of the exhibition on February 15, they hope to build more Leonardo machines to fly into the harbour. .

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Sex attack on Dutch tourists in Southland

By MARK STEVENS – Thursday, 15 January 2009

A pair of Dutch tourists have been sexually assaulted and robbed in Southland.
The attack happened at 6.40am today at a camping ground in Tuatapere, western Southland. They were threatened with a knife before the woman was sexually attacked.
Detective Sergeant Dave Nelson said a man entered the vehicle that the pair – a 22-year-old woman and a 25-year-old man – were sleeping in.
The attacker was disguised.
"He has demanded cash from the victims before fleeing the scene," Mr Nelson said. Police believe a second person was waiting outside the vehicle.
The victims are being cared for by Victim Support and Invercargill police.
Mr Nelson said a burglary in the town, also earlier today, was being investigated to determine whether it was linked to the robbery and sex attack.
Last August, two young English women endured a two-hour sex attack in their campervan north of Gisborne, despite trying to negotiate with their attacker to spare them.
There have been a series of serious attacks in recent years on young tourists travelling around New Zealand.
In November, 2006, Dutch honeymooners in the Bay of Islands were held up at gunpoint at Haruru Falls.
The women, in their late teens, were at Tokomaru Bay, when a man forced his way into their campervan and subjected them to a range of indecencies. . In February, 2007, a 23-year-old English tourist was sexually assaulted in Kaikoura.
Anyone with information is asked to call their local police station, or Mr Nelson on 03 211 0400

. They want to hear from anyone who saw suspicious activity, people or vehicles in the Tuatapere area last night or earlier today