Cholera has been confirmed as the cause of death of 16 persons on a remote island in Papua New Guinea which is close to Australia's maritime border. The first case was detected on Daru Island in Western Province three weeks ago. Since then 12 adults and 4 children have died, and 320 others have been treated for the infection.
Since Daru is situated at the mouth of the Fly River, CEO of the local hospital, Dr Amos Lano feels the infection could spread upstream. Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease of which mild illness is common. But up to 10 per cent of patients develop a severe illness that might kill them if left untreated. It is transmitted by ingesting water contaminated by bacteria from an infected person or food contaminated by dirty water, soiled hands or flies.
Australian aid agency AusAID, along with the PNG government and the World Health Organisation, has organised a relief flight to Daru this morning to distribute emergency medical aid and assess the situation. A spokeswoman said, “The Australian government stands ready to provide additional assistance to the PNG government to respond to the outbreak as needed…At this stage, no formal request for assistance has been made.”
Meanwhile the Queensland health officials are monitoring cholera situation near the Torres Strait following the deaths of 13 children. Officials maintain that those who maintain good hygiene practices at the island are safe. Queensland Health communicable diseases branch senior director Dr Christine Selvey assured that conditions in the Torres Strait were good. She said, “It's exceedingly unlikely that cholera could spread locally within north Queensland… Hygiene and food preparation practices in the Torres Strait are good, there is ready access to safe drinking water, and there is safe disposal of human wastes.”
Australia has provided $1.7 million in response to the PNG cholera outbreak.
Artemisinin resistance detected in children with severe malaria in Uganda