Cholera Outbreak in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

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Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

https://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=107574

Warden Message: Papua New Guinea Cholera Outbreak
Consular Affairs Bulletins
East Asia / Pacific - Papua New Guinea
11 Sep 2009

U.S. Embassy Port Moresby isued the following Warden Message on September 11:



This warden message is being issued to inform American citizens of the public health emergency issued by the Ministry of Health of Papua New Guinea regarding a cholera outbreak in the province of Morobe on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. The epidemic has spread from the rural areas of Morobe province to its capital, Lae. The Health Department is working closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) to deal with the outbreak.



For additional information on cholera, American citizens may refer to the CDC's website at http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/dfbmd/disease_listing/cholera_gi.html. American citizens experiencing symptoms associated with cholera, such as severe diarrhea, should seek immediate medical attention. To obtain Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) travel notices, you may dial the CDC at 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) from within the U.S., and at 1-404-639-3534 from overseas, or visit their website at http://www.cdc.gov/travel.






For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department?s Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S and Canada or, for callers in other areas, by calling a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).
The U.S. Consulate General in Papua New Guinea is located on Douglas Street, adjacent to the Bank of Papua New Guinea, in Port Moresby, tel. (051)(675) 689-6109. The after-hours emergency telephone number is (051)(675) 689-6109.

 

[alert]

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/12/2683901.htm

Fears as PNG cholera outbreak spreads
By PNG correspondent Liam Fox in Lae

Posted 2 hours 22 minutes ago

Health authorities in Papua New Guinea fear the country's first cholera outbreak will be harder to contain now that it has reached an urban environment.

Until this week cases of cholera had been confined to remote villages in the Morobe province.

But it has now reached the provincial capital, Lae, and killed five people, bringing the death toll from the cholera outbreak to 18.

At the same time, in the same province, authorities are also battling outbreaks of dysentery and influenza that have killed around 100 people and infected thousands.

Sally Stevenson from Medecins Sans Frontieres says now that the cholera outbreak has reached Lae it will be much harder to contain, particularly in the city's many squatter settlements.

"These settlement areas are obviously very poor," she said.

"They have very limited access to clean water and very limited understanding about the way cholera works."

Health authorities are worried it may already be worse than current information suggests.

Provincial health adviser Dr Theo Likei says poor transport and communications infrastructure is hampering efforts to gauge the extent of the problem and respond to it.

"The problem could be greater than what we have now because of our communication difficulties," he said.

 

[alert]

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

The green statement is bad math. They are obviously adding the approximately 100 influenza/dysentery fatalities to the 18 cholera fatalities.

http://australianetworknews.com/stories/200909/2683957.htm?desktop

PNG health authorities warn Lae disease outbreak 'worse than thought'Last Updated: 14 hours 36 minutes ago

Health authorities in Papua New Guinea say a major disease outbreak could be worse than previously thought.

Our PNG correspondent Liam Fox reports that one hundred and eighteen people have died in Morobe province and thousands have been infected by outbreaks of cholera, dysentery and influenza with most of the infections in remote villages.

The provincial health advisor Dr Theo Likei says poor transport and communications infrastructure is hampering efforts to gauge the extent of the problem and respond to it.

"The problem could be greater than what we have now because of our communication difficulties," he said.

Cholera has now reached the provincial capital Lae and killed five people.

Authorities are worried the water-borne disease will be even harder to contain in an urban environment particularly in the city's many squatter settlements.

 

[Okieman]

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Fears as PNG diseases spread

By PNG correspondent Liam Fox for AM

Authorities in Papua New Guinea are battling to contain simultaneous outbreaks of influenza, dysentery and cholera.

So far, nearly 120 people have died and thousands have been infected by the diseases in Morobe province on the country's north coast.

It is Papua New Guinea's first cholera outbreak and medics fear the situation will get much worse before it gets better.

At a helipad in Lae, men are loading aid kits and soap into a small helicopter. They are bound for Menyamya, 100 kilometres to the south-west, where so far 60 people have died from seasonal influenza and nearly 4,000 have been infected.

Thirty people have also died from a severe form of dysentery called shigella that has infected 700 others.

If that was not enough for PNG's under-resourced health system to deal with, in Wasu to the north, 13 people have died amid the country's first outbreak of cholera and 200 others have contracted the water-borne disease.

[snip]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/12/2683901.htm

 

[Snowy Owl]

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

There is only one thing I can say to my Sisters and Brothers, Melaleuca trees, get the oil out of it. warm the chest and behing with a hot towels then massage Melaleua Oil it will get trough the hot skin (cineole) cover the areas with woul or what you know that will allow the melaleuca oil to get trough the skin.

Ancestors Wisom

Snowy Owl

 

[Treyfish]

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

More than 100 die of cholera, diarrhoea, influenza in PNG
13 Sep 2009 09:45:33 GMT
<!-- 13 Sep 2009 09:45:33 GMT ## for search indexer, do not remove -->Source: Reuters

<!-- AN5.0 article title end --><SCRIPT language=JavaScript src="/bin/js/article.js"></SCRIPT></SPAN> <!-- More than 100 die of cholera, diarrhoea, influenza in PNG --><!-- Reuters -->PORT MORESBY, Sept 13 (Reuters) - More than 100 people have died and over 5,000 have been infected in outbreaks of cholera, influenza and diarrhoea in remote parts of Papua New Guinea since last month, health officials said on Sunday.
A Worth Health Organisation (WHO) official told Reuters the outbreaks began in August and have affected remote highland areas, as well as the major regional city of Lae and parts of the northern coast.
Some of these areas are very remote, with little communication or other infrastructure and often only reachable by helicopter. Health officials say the figures could be substantially higher.
More than 4,600 cases of influenza had been confirmed, with 56 deaths, along with 788 cases of diarrhoea with 39 deaths, caused by the bacterium shigella. There have also been 274 cases of cholera, with 21 confirmed deaths, a WHO official in Port Moresby said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Health officials say it is thought to be the first recorded outbreak of cholera in Papua New Guinea and the strain of the water-borne disease has been identified as one widespread in Southeast Asia.
The influenza has been confirmed as seasonal influenza, not the new H1N1 strain which has been declared a global pandemic.
Vanessa Cramond, national medical director with aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), said many victims of cholera were finding themselves ostracised and unable even to take public transport to get treatment.
"People don't know what cholera is and do not know how to respond to it, and how urgent it is to seek care and treatment," she told Reuters. "There is stigmatisation of people with cholera."
(Sydney Newsroom :tiphat:http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/B462911.htm

 

[alert]

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

From ProMed's cholera, dysentery, and diarrhea report. Note that all references to the (seasonal) flu have been edited out of these articles, as they don't belong in that report.

That also might explain why we haven't seen a posting - I was told by a ProMed moderator back in April (who thought that was what they had in Oaxaca) that seasonal influenza outbreaks do not get ProMed postings except as a general overview. I would have thought, though, that they would post something as a refutation of the outbreak being caused by Pandemic H1N1.

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f..._BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,79210

[7] Cholera, shigellosis - Papua New Guinea
Date: Mon 7 Sep 2009
Source: IRIN [edited]
<http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=86035>


12 people have died from the 1st outbreak of cholera in 50 years in
Papua New Guinea (PNG), and the disease must be urgently contained
before it spreads further, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

Eigil Sorensen, WHO's representative in Papua New Guinea, said
cholera appeared in 2 coastal villages in northern Morobe Province at
the end of July 2009 and gradually spread to 4 districts in the
province, but was not identified until a month later.

"Cholera hasn't been reported in Papua New Guinea for the last 50
years," Sorenson told IRIN, adding that the world health body was
investigating the cause of the outbreaks. It's a major concern,
mainly because the healthcare system in PNG remains weak. Rural
health services are quite weak. and if cholera becomes endemic, it
will become a major challenge," he said.

Of the 130 reported cases so far, there had been 12 deaths, Sorensen
said, and the disease appeared to be spreading through low level
transmission. "Since there is low level transmission and the number
of cases remains relatively low, we think there is no contamination
of any major water sources," he said. However, the disease has
appeared in Lae, the provincial capital, which Sorenson attributed to
people traveling from rural areas into the city.

Medical NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on 7 Sep 2009 that
Angau Hospital in Lae was on high alert over the cholera outbreak and
that it had helped the Ministry of Health establish a cholera
treatment center there. MSF's emergency team has sent 7 additional
staff, including 3 nurses and a water and sanitation specialist, to
assist in the urgent response.

Morobe Province has also been hit by unrelated outbreaks of
shigellosis, a bacterium that causes bloody diarrhea. Sorenson said
about 40 people might have died from shigella in the last month in
remote districts in Morobe.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>

[A map of Papua New Guinea can be seen at:
<http://wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Papua_New_Guinea_map.png>.
- Mod.LL]

******
[8] Cholera - Papua New Guinea
Date: Mon 31 Aug 2009
Source: BBC News [edited]
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8230018.stm>


An outbreak of cholera has reportedly killed more than 40 people in a
remote area of Papua New Guinea. Government officials said that
hundreds of other villagers in Morobe Province have fallen ill. A
World Health Organization medical team has confirmed the outbreak,
and PNG's health minister has ordered measures to contain its spread.

This is the 1st time the disease has officially been confirmed in the country.

The deaths are reported to have occurred in the remote Finsch-hafen
district of Morobe province on the northern coast of Papua New
Guinea. Officials said that up to 800 people have been taken ill.

--
Communicated by:
Scott E. Miller, Ph.D.
Deputy Under Secretary for Science
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, DC
<millers@si.edu>

[ProMED-mail thanks Dr. Miller for this posting. - Mod.LL]

 

[alert]

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

http://pidp.eastwestcenter.org/pireport/2009/September/09-14-03.htm

PACIFIC ISLANDS REPORT

Pacific Islands Development Program/East-West Center
With Support From Center for Pacific Islands Studies/University of Hawai?i


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PNG BATTLES DYSENTERY ON MANY FRONTS
Illness spreads in Morobe, Gulf, Highlands regions

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (The National, September 11, 2009) ? The total number of areas in Menyamya affected by dysentery stands at 21, with the epidemic gradually spreading to the border of Morobe, Gulf and Eastern Highlands provinces.

Deputy health programme adviser for Morobe, Micah Yawing, said the ongoing outbreak of dysentery had spread from Wailala at the border of Menyamya to a nearby village in the Eastern Highlands province.

He has called on the provincial health division in Eastern Highlands to collaborate closely with Morobe to take precautionary measures to contain the situation in the two provinces.

At the moment, health officials in Menyamya are still waiting from relief and medical supplies from the provincial and national governments, Health Department and from the disaster and emergency authorities.

Only IV drips have reached the district and are being used for dehydrated patients with dysentery.

Mr. Yawing said all rations, including food and water for health officers, had run out.

He said water was a major problem.

With no rain, people are resorting to digging dried creeks to collect water.

"After getting water, we are boiling and then using it for drinking and cooking," Yawing said.

Health officials are attempting to contain the disease by returning to the Menyamya station with reports and going back with medication.

Yawing has commended the District Administrator Samson Arom and his administrative staff, especially for their logistical support.

He said though there had been no official support, health officials in Menyamya had been dedicated and committed in effectively helping to contain the outbreak.

The total number of confirmed deaths for July to yesterday is 97, excluding unconfirmed deaths from previous reports.

The National: www.thenational.com.pg/
Copyright ? 2009 The National Online. All Rights Reserved

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Go back to Pacific Islands Report: Graphics or Text Only.

 

[alert]

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Likely typo here: The line that says "cholera 9 deaths" should probably read "cholera 14 deaths", as judged by the figures that immediately follow.

http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20090914/mohome.htm

Provinces go on alert!

PAPUA New Guinea has gone on the alert for cholera as health authorities and governments in many provinces take measures to contain the spread of the
killer disease. In Port Moresby a task force was established by the National Capital District Commission to prepare to tackle cholera should the outbreak in parts of Morobe,
Gulf and Eastern Highlands provinces spread to Port Moresby. National Capital Governor Powes Parkop announced this newly -formed NCD Cholera Preparedness and Response Planning Coordination Task Force at a press conference on Friday. In the Eastern Highlands and Western Highlands provinces, health authorities have placed hospitals on alert for the disease and are warning the people to take care. In Morobe, the provincial government passed a resolution to ask the National Government for K7-8 million to combat the cholera, dysentery and
influenza outbreak now spreading in Morobe Province. At the same time the provincial cabinet has also called on the National Government to declare a “State of Emergency” for the whole of the Morobe Province. The Morobe Government has committed K500,000 for the emergency with funding for each district as follows: Menyamya K200,000; Tewae Siassi K100,000; Lae
K50,000; Huon Gulf K50,000 and Nawaeb K50,000. Students at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology have called on the administration to suspend classes and send them home to wait out the cholera pandemic threatening period in Lae city. Deaths from the disease outbreak were: cholera 9 deaths: Wasu 9, Lae Papua Compound 1, Bumbu Settlement 4; dysentery 105 deaths: Menyamya 104 and Bulolo 1 and these death tolls were as of last Friday. In Madang, the provincial government has indefinitely deferred the Madang festival due to fears of the cholera outbreak spreading there. Governor Sir Arnold Amet on Saturday said the show committee had met on Friday and based on experts’ advice had decided to postpone the event.
In the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, the Buka Hospital was placed on alert for cholera as hospital authorities fear the disease may spread into the region. Similar warnings were also issued to Eastern Highlands and Gulf provinces to be on the lookout as the disease could spread there as well.

 

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Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20090914/mohome.htm

NCD forms cholera taskforce

By MAUREEN GERAWA

A TASKFORCE has been formed to prepare to tackle cholera should the outbreak in parts of Morobe, Gulf and Eastern Highlands provinces spread to Port
Moresby. National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop announced this newly -formed NCD Cholera Preparedness and Response Planning Coordination Task Force on
Friday. ?We have to prepare for any eventuality. Cholera is a very contagious disease. It can spread very quickly. The chance of it being spread to other provinces
is very high,?? Mr Parkop said. He said the likelihood of the disease spreading to Port Moresby was high due to frequent travel between the two major cities, as well as between Port
Moresby and the other two affected provinces.
He assured the city residents not to panic, but also to be on guard. ?It?s better to be prepared than be caught off-guard,? he said. ?I don?t want to be an
alarmist, but to be a responsible leader, we have to be prepared, basically to take precautionary measures in order to prevent any outbreaks.??
The taskforce comprises of representatives from the National Capital District Commission, the Department of Health, Eda Ranu, NCD Urban Health Services, NCD
Education Board, Central Province, National Agriculture Quarantine Authority (NAQIA), Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce, Motu-Koitabu Council and the national
Education Department.
The terms of reference for the taskforce are:
* Co-ordinate immediate public awareness campaigns on cholera through all public media including special public meetings. The issues to be addressed and
emphasised will be on personal hygiene, safe sources of drinking water, safe disposal of human waste, and hygiene standards in food preparation, consumption,
storage and sales of food, both fresh and cooked food; educational awareness at various places about health and hygiene;
* Assess the status and come up with practical strategies to ensure all sectors of the community have access to adequate safe water supply;
* Assess the status of existing human waste disposal system and come up with strategies to ensure the existing system is functioning effectively and address
human waste disposal system in low housing areas, unplanned settlements and per-urban squatter settlements and nearby communities in Central Province;
* Assess the quality of public food outlets, food handling, storage and sales within NCD and develop standards and guidelines where needed to ensure food
handling and sales meet acceptable minimum standards;
* Assess the status of health facilities? water supply and public toilets systems and come up with measures to ensure those areas require attention are
resolved immediately by the relevant authorities;
* Assess the status of public toilet system in public places, mar-kets, parks and recreation facilities and come up with plans to ensure these are
functioning and identify those communities require public amenities are included for future development;
* Assess the standard of food establishments, including fast foods, restaurants and hotels and develop strategies to immediately address those establishment
that do not comply with minimum public health standards;
* Assess the standard of institutional catering facilities, including high schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and barracks and liaise with their
respective authorities to ensure remedial actions are taken on those areas requiring attention; Review exis-ting surveillance mechanism for monitoring and
reporting of water-borne diseases, particularly cholera cases and advice on areas of improvements;
A plan of action will be developed from the activities listed as a preparedness response to any cholera outbreak.
NCD Chief Health Surveyer Robin Yanopa said the taskforce would begin its program today with an educational awareness program in villages and squatter
settlements.
?The taskforce will go out to the community and do a lot of awareness,?? Mr Yanopa said.

 

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Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/635

Cholera scare rocks Unitech
Source:
The National
STUDENTS at the University of Technology in Lae called a forum last Friday morning to suspend classes amid rumours that four students had been infected with cholera.
Investigations in the lodges, however, found the students were suffering from other illnesses.
Staff at the university clinic also said no one had reported to the clinic with symptoms of cholera.
The university clinic has opened an isolation bay where any suspected cases will be checked before referrals are made to the Angau quarantine centre for treatment.
SRC president O?Brien Hoga along with other student representatives and medical staff visited the lodgings of the suspected cases.
They confirmed the four students were ill but did not show any signs of dysentery or diarrhoea.
The situation on campus, however, was tense throughout the weekend. Many students feared entering the lodging areas of the sick and refused to enter and use the ablution blocks. Some feared going into the library, computer labs and mess halls.
Female SRC president Elizabeth Lolo said a medical team from the World Health Organisation would visit the campus today to conduct an assessment of the area and address the students.
The students called for a suspension of classes last Friday morning arguing that an outbreak could easily occur due to the common facilities shared among the students.
Unitech?s administration told the students that the decision to suspend classes could not be made overnight and directed the students to return to classes today.
They were told that the decision to close down any university was a long process and the University Council was the only authority that had the power to do so.
An urgent meeting of the heads of departments was held last Friday afternoon, the first stage of the process.
Following that will be a meeting of the academic board, who will then report to the council. The council then makes the final decision.
Senior lecturer and deputy chairman of the Angau Memorial Hospital board, Dr Graham Atkins, also addressed the students at the forum.
He told the students that fear and panic were ?two of the biggest diseases that could fail the body?s immune system?.
He said that everyone was susceptible to cholera and advised students not to ?rock the boat?.
Dr Atkins also said in both meetings last Friday that closing down the campus was an irrational move.
He stressed that if one student had cholera, it would be best for that person to stay on campus, and in Lae where treatment was available by specialists who are trained to treat cholera.
?Going home could allow for the infection to spread if one was already affected,? he warned.
As a precautionary measure, security has been tightened with restrictions on entering the campus.
Students and staff are required to present their ID cards once they return from outside the campus.
Students have also been advised to practice safe hygiene.

 

[alert]

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/634

Madang Festival put off over disease fears
Source:
JEFFREY ELAPA
THE fear of a cholera outbreak in the Morobe province has forced the neighbouring Madang province to postpone its Madang festival indefinitely.
The Madang festival, formerly known as the Maborasa show, was scheduled to coincide with the 34th Independence celebrations this week.
Although there are no confirmed cholera cases reported in the province, an urgent provincial executive council meeting last Friday decided to defer the festival to a later date as a precautionary measure.
One suspected case is now under quarantine at the Modilon General Hospital.
The person is believed to be from a village located between Rai Coast in Madang and Kabwum district of Morobe.
The hospital is yet to confirm the suspected case after checking the household and relatives of the suspect.
Governor Sir Arnold Amet told The National that the PEC was advised by the provincial health department and World Health Organisation officials that there was a possibility of the spread of the epidemic during the show because of the movement of people from Morobe and the Highlands.
Sir Arnold said that many singsing and drama groups from the Highlands and Morobe were expected to participate in the festival, so the PEC had decided to defer the festival indefinitely until the threat was over.
He said that people?s lives were more important and, therefore, the province was prepared to act to address the spread of the disease.
Sir Arnold said the provincial government had already established a technical task force working committee headed by the provincial administrator to monitor and conduct awareness about the disease.

 

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Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/636

Visa hold-up
Source:
DAISY TANIOVA PAWA
A FATHER and son medical team is stranded in Germany, awaiting clearance by PNG immigration authorities to travel to the site of the cholera outbreak in Wasu, Morobe province.
The Evangelical Lutheran church had requested Dr Theo Winkler and his son, Dr Arne Winkler, to assist the Etep Rural Hospital at Wasu when suspicions of cholera were first raised on July 25.
Their visa and short-term work permit applications were lodged with the PNG Immigration Services and the Department of Labour and Employment on Aug 21, four days before the outbreak was made public in the media.
The Labour Department immediately issued a six-month work permit.
But an officer from PNG Immigration Services told the Lutheran church head office late on Friday that the authority for visa issuance ?had not been sent because the fax has no toner?.
An authorisation would need to be sent to the PNG Embassy official in charge of Germany in Brussels, Belgium, the Immigration officer said.
The officer also said the officer in charge of the visa section ?had knocked off for the day? at 3pm.
The senior Dr Winkler is a surgeon and has been working on short stints since 1980 at the Braun Hospital in Finschhafen. He was, for a time in the late 1980s and early 90s, the medical superintendent.
His son, a cardiologist who has experience working with cholera patients, has accompanied his father on working holidays to Finschhafen.
They have both taken six months leave from their practice to help at this time.
Meanwhile, there have been no reports of more deaths from cholera in Lae over the weekend.
But the number of cases has reached 122.
Of these, 77 have been hospitalised while the rest were sent home after receiving treatment.
The death toll still stands at six, according to information presented at the provincial outbreak task force meeting held at the malaria provincial health office yesterday.
The task force has been meeting everyday since last week to get the latest information on the progress of the fight against influenza, dysentery and cholera in the Morobe province and other affected provinces.
The team is headed by Dr Victor Golpak.
The meeting covers coordination, surveillance, logistics, environmental health and communication and dissemination of information.
Meanwhile, at the treatment centre for cholera patients in Lae, 25 more beds were converted for patients and three more tents will be erected, to increase the total capacity to 87.
An 8,000l water tank was donated to Angau Memorial Hospital by the Rotary Club of Huon Gulf, and a washing machine was also donated by Brian Bell and Company.
An ambulance from St John had been promised to Angau for transportation of cholera patients, Angau CEO Dr Polapoi Chalau said.

 

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Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-09-14-voa14.cfm

Scores Die in Papua New Guinea Disease Outbreaks
By Phil Mercer
Sydney
14 September 2009


Authorities in Papua New Guinea are battling simultaneous outbreaks of influenza, dysentery and cholera that have killed about 120 people. Thousands of others have been infected by the diseases in Morobe province on the remote northern coast of the South Pacific nation.

At least 13 people have died in Papua New Guinea's first reported outbreak of cholera. At least 200 others have contracted the disease, which is caused by contaminated food or water and can be fatal if not treated.

The nation's fragile public health system also is struggling to cope with a rising number of influenza cases. So far, 60 people have died and almost 4,000 villagers have been infected by what has been identified as seasonal flu. And a severe strain of dysentery has claimed 30 lives.

Medical officials fear the situation is about to get much worse.

The diseases have struck isolated communities that lie to the north of the capital, Port Moresby.

In the regional city of Lae, clinics have been set up in tents to cope with what is expected to be a flood of patients.

The international charity, Doctors Without Borders, runs the clinics. Coordinator Sally Stevenson says that public education is the key to stopping the spread of cholera.

"It's also trying to overcome the fear of cholera, because it's a new disease and it's unknown and it strikes quickly," she said. "So there's quite a deal of fear in the community that needs to be overcome."

As in many developing countries, poor transportation and geographical isolation hamper efforts in Papua New Guinea to assess the extent of the various infections.

The government has declared a public emergency. Health officials say that setting up command posts in the disease zones will allow more precise monitoring of the outbreaks.

Normally, Papua New Guinea, a mountainous, jungle-covered nation, contends with a high incidence of dengue fever and malaria. In recent years, the spread of AIDS has put stress on an impoverished health system.

The nation, a former Australian colony, has a rich culture, where more than 850 indigenous languages are spoken, more than 10 percent of the world's total languages.

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[Treyfish]

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

14 September 2009

Deaths increase as cholera outbreak gathers pace

<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /><O:SMARTTAGTYPE name="country-region" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags"></O:SMARTTAGTYPE><O:SMARTTAGTYPE name="City" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags"></O:SMARTTAGTYPE><O:SMARTTAGTYPE name="PlaceType" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags"></O:SMARTTAGTYPE><O:SMARTTAGTYPE name="PlaceName" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags"></O:SMARTTAGTYPE><O:SMARTTAGTYPE name="place" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags"></O:SMARTTAGTYPE>The death toll in the cholera outbreak in PNG is now well over 100 with 5,000 other people suffering from the disease or serious influenza and diarrhoea.
Cholera ? not seen in PNG for at least 50 years - has spread from its epicentre in a village in the <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 /><ST1LACE w:st="on"><ST1LACENAME w:st="on">Morobe</ST1LACENAME> <ST1LACETYPE w:st="on">Province</ST1LACETYPE></ST1LACE> to the provincial capital Lae as well as remote highland areas and parts of the northern coast.
A World Health Organisation official has reported 700 confirmed cases with 133 deaths, although there are fears the toll could be far higher. If the epidemic is not contained, the outcoems for PNG could be extremely serious.
The strain of cholera has been identified as one widespread in <ST1LACE w:st="on">South East Asia</ST1LACE>. The worst hit area is around Menyamya, where 101 people are reported to have died.
Ten people have also died near Wonenara in the <ST1LACE w:st="on">Eastern Highlands</ST1LACE> as the disease spreads to the highly populated mountain valleys,
Vanessa Cramond, medical director of Medecins Sans Frontieres in PNG, says many victims are being ostracised and unable to get treatment. "People don't know what cholera is and don?t know how to respond to it, and how urgent it is to seek care and treatment," she told Reuters. "There is stigmatisation of people with cholera."
Rotary clubs in PNG and <ST1:COUNTRY-REGION w:st="on"><ST1LACE w:st="on">Australia</ST1LACE></ST1:COUNTRY-REGION> have been quick off the mark in offering practical assistance to help curb the epidemic by contributing cash to a disaster fund, tanks to store fresh water and chlorine tablets for water purification.
The national emergency response is being coordinated by personnel from AusAID, the World Health Organsisation, the Australian Army and, after a slow start, the PNG Government.
The Army has erected tents in the grounds of <ST1LACE w:st="on"><ST1LACENAME w:st="on">Lae</ST1LACENAME> <ST1LACETYPE w:st="on">Hospital</ST1LACETYPE></ST1LACE> and established a triage centre. One of the prime concerns is to contain the spread of the disease as many local people have fled from infected areas to their villages and may be promoting the epidemic to otherwise sterile locations.:tiphat:http://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/

 

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Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Browse: Home / Liklik Toksave / Eastern Highlands is on Alert

Eastern Highlands is on Alert

By Robert on <ABBR class=published title="Friday, September 11th, 2009, 2:33 pm">September 11, 2009</ABBR>
Things have been pretty hectic the past 24 hours with the local Health Authorities and Goroka General Hospital starting to mobilise after confirmation that Cholera has finally worked its way into the Highlands.
Interestingly the Goroka Show is still going ahead with thousands of visitors expected to pour into town from the coastal areas as well as neighbouring Districts. Although there?s much talk about doing this and doing that ? I have yet to see any decisive action to mitigate and contain the outbreak. Having said that the management of Goroka Hospital alongside Provincial Health officials have met on several occasions over the past 24 hours in an attempt to come up with a Plan.
In the meantime 1000?s continue to travel every day between the affected areas on the coast and the Highlands!
With the settlement situation (town sewerage pours straight into Genoka) and its poor hygiene, lack of clean water supply and sprawling rubbish, folks pissing and shitting wherever they feel like it, and of course the urban collection of <ACRONYM title="Papua New Guinea">PNG</ACRONYM> ?fast? market food (lamb flaps and/or sausages cooked on old oil drum lids) ? heaven have mercy on Goroka and it?s people should Cholera hit this town. :tiphat:http://www.trupela.com/2009/09/11/eastern-highlands-is-on-alert/

 

[Okieman]

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Dysentery deaths up

By HAIVETA KIVIA and WILLIE PALME

SEVENTY TWO people were last night added to the list of people that have succumbed to dysentery, the water borne disease that is spreading like bushfire
in Morobe, Eastern Highlands and Gulf provinces. The latest figures supplied by government officials bring the total number of people claimed by a dysentery
outbreak in the three provinces to 177 ? far outstripping the number of deaths recorded for cholera, another deadly disease gripping Morobe and which is
slowly moving into the Highlands. Yesterday, authorities in Goroka went into action after the first case of cholera was confirmed in Asaro, where a Watabung
man was diagnosed with the diarrhoea like disease. The man is said have been placed in quarantine in Goroka as the authorities step up efforts to contain the
spread of the disease into the populous highlands region. The Eastern Highlands Provincial Government established a task force to take the lead in containing
the disease. While the battle moves into top gear to combat cholera, in the far flung Semberi and Andakombi areas in the Obura Wonenara district, 29 people
were reported to have died from dysentery ? 13 females, six males and 10 children. Six teams of health workers with the support of officers from Care
International have been in the area since last week attending to the outbreak. In the mountains of Kaintiba, Gulf Province, 43 people, mostly children, have
died from dysentery and influensa in four villages and no form of help is yet to reach them from Kerema. Menyamya district nursing officer Titus Mathew
revealed this last night. The deaths for July and August stand as: Kwayu 3; Komako 3; Bu?u Angai 30 and Uvokuo 7. All these villages are in the Kotidanga LLG
of Kaintiba districts. Statistics reveal that 70% of the deaths were children under the age of six years.

http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20090915/tuhome.htm

 

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Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/672

29 die in EHP
Source:
ZACHERY PER in GOROKA
MEDICAL authorities yesterday revealed that 29 people in Eastern Highlands province have died from dysentery, while one case of cholera has been confirmed.
Eastern Highlands provincial administrator Munare Uyassi said stool samples sent to Port Moresby for laboratory tests from a patient showing symptoms of cholera in Watabung, Daulo district, confirmed that he had cholera.
?The patient is being treated and is under strict quarantine and is being monitored,? Mr Uyassi said.
As of yesterday afternoon, reports from a medical team doing surveillance at Andakombi and Simbari in Obura-Wonenara district that shares a common border with Menyamya in Morobe province, confirmed 29 deaths.
Mr Uyassi said a combined fact-finding mission from the provincial division of health and CARE International deployed to monitor the situation along the border reported that the deaths were related to dysentery.
Six of them were from Simbari and 23 from Andakombi.
Six of the deceased were male adults, 13 female adults and 10 children.
The Eastern Highlands provincial government yesterday announced that it had set up an emergency cholera response task force to immediately draft an action plan to combat cholera.
Mr Uyassi said provincial health director Ben Haili would lead the task force, while members of the committee included representatives from Goroka Base Hospital, Goroka town authority, police, church health services, non-governmental organisations and development partners. Mr Uyassi said that a separate team was placed on alert in Kainantu as it was the gateway to the Highlands.
?A massive awareness exercise was carried out by the Goroka district health services, which discouraged cooked food vending and general preventive measures over the weekend, with good results,? he said.
Mr Uyassi said that the University of Goroka, CARE International, Unicef, Clinton Foundation and Save the Children Fund (SCF) had assisted in the awareness exercise.
?The town authority has been double treating the town water supply and the Goroka Base Hospital is building a makeshift cholera treatment centre away from the general ward,? he said.
Mr Uyassi added that health workers would be specially trained to look after cholera patients, and the Salvation Army church had already erected a makeshift tent behind the hospital morgue.
?Police will be on regular patrols to hunt down cooked food vendors, especially those along the Eastern Highlands section of the highway from Watarais (EHP and Morobe border) to Magiro (EHP and Simbu border).
He said settlements with unhygienic living conditions would be closed down.
?Settlements with poor water and sanitation could become a breeding ground for cholera,? Mr Uyassi said.
?Police have been instructed to be on the lookout for such settlements.?

 

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Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/671

Sewerage a health hazard
Source:
ZACHERY PER
GOROKA residents are being exposed to great risk of cholera and dysentery because of untreated sewerage being dumped into nearby creeks.
Residents and community leaders including executives of Apoga Community Health Concern Group at the Fimito Road sewerage plant yesterday approached The National with concerns about their exposure to diseases.
They said they were at risk as chemical treatment plant and instruments at the four treatment ponds had broken down, resulting in untreated waste being discharged into the nearby creeks, waterways and surrounding areas.
Concerned residents Watruta Osi and Roy Lipu, whose homes are located less than five metres away from the black-bucket disposal plant, said when the town authorities poured raw sewerage into the plant, they were affected by the foul odour.
?Our children are always affected by diarrhoea and have worms in their stomach. Now we fear a cholera outbreak,? Mr Osi said.
Mr Lipu said they had been living in these unhygienic conditions for the past 30 years.
He added that during the wet season, human waste at the plant spilled over to the drainage and into Homate Street where cooked food vendors sell their stuff.
A long-time black-bucket carrier with the Goroka town authority, Peter Panda, said they had never been issued with protective gear like hand gloves, safety boots, masks and overalls while removing black-buckets from residents.
?I collect 16 buckets every week and dispose them without wearing any protective gear,? he told The National at the treatment plant site yesterday.
John Tutu, who treats the waste at the plant, said he put chemicals twice a day in the morning and afternoon at the inlet just to stop the smell.
?I put one full container of chemical to stop smell every morning and afternoon,? Mr Tutu said.
He has worked at the plant for more than 20 years, starting under the Works Department?s Static Plant and continuing under the current Goroka town authority.
Community leader and businessman, Francis Yarokave, said the residents were living in a dangerous environment and they were afraid.
He said that untreated sewerage from the four sewerage ponds would spill into gardens, residences and into the nearby Gerelomeka creek, affecting local people at Kafena and Fimito.
It eventually flows into the Asaro River and down to Kamaliki and Keiya areas.
Mr Yarokave said that domestic animals, especially pigs and dogs, would feed from the sewerage as the perimeter fencing had collapsed several years ago and was never repaired.
?Heavy waste from the Goroka Base Hospital is also disposed at the plant without being treated. This places us at great risk,? he said.
He said coffee quality inspectors from the Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC) stopped him from operating his new wet coffee factory down the Gerelomeka creek due to heavy presence of excreta in the water from the creek.
Apoga Community Health Concern Group chairman Willard Tunaoh and Mr Yarokave yesterday served a writ of National Court summons to the Goroka town authority (first defendant), Eastern Highlands provincial government (second defendant) and the State (third defendant) over damages and loss of business.
Mr Tunaoh said they suffered damages through loss of garden land, foul smell causing premature aging, premature infant deaths, loss of lives from respiratory diseases and loss of business due to the unhygienic condition of the plant.
They are seeking orders for K20 million in general damages, maintenance of the plant to international health standards or possible relocation of the plant.
Mr Tunaoh said that tests by the Department of Agriculture and Livestock and the Institute of Medical Research a few years ago on water near the plant showed heavy presence of human waste in the water.

 

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Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

Re: 177 dead, 3300+ affected by several illnesses in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province

http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=49125

Health crisis eases in PNG?s Morobe province
Posted at 07:22 on 15 September, 2009 UTC

There are signs the disease outbreaks in Papua New Guinea?s Morobe Province are stablising with the local health administrator reporting no deaths from cholera for the past week.

The known death toll from influenza, shigella and cholera is 120 but there are an estimated 6,000 people suffering from the illnesses.

Since the declaration of a public health emergency a week ago more help has become available, but a number of agencies and NGOs have been on the ground in the province for some time.

These include Medicins Sans Frontieres, and one of its nurses, Veronique de Clerc, says they have set up a cholera treatment centre in collaboration with Lae?s Angau Hospital.

?We have set up an isolation structure that has a bed capacity of about 85 beds, and we are receiving patients directly through us and treating them obviously for the main part is re-hydration.?
Veronique de Clerc says once re-hydrated most patients are cured of cholera.

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