Malaria Outbreak Affects Papua New Guinea’s Hela Region

At least 137 people have died since December 2005 from a malaria outbreak in the Hela region of Papua New Guinea's Southern Highlands province, according to head of the Wabia health center John Apaiya, The National reports. Hela's Hulia local government council region near Tari town is the most affected by the outbreak, and the most affected villages include Tigibi, Haluma, Wabia and Dauli, according to Sister Jennifer Dick, head of the Tigibi health center. According to Sister Dick, many patients are resistant to antimalarial drugs and have anemia. In addition, the Tari hospital is experiencing a shortage of malaria drugs -- including chloroquine, fansidar, quinine, primoquine, artesunates and arthemether -- according to hospital pharmacist Pius Aunal. He added that the government-run medical distributor in Mt. Hagen has repeatedly denied requests for between 8,000 to 10,000 doses of a single antimalarial, and other essential drugs also are not available. The Tari hospital supplies additional health centers in the districts of Koroba, Komo, Margarima, Tari and Pori, Aunal said. According to Tari hospital senior laboratory technician Frank Kasahya, 515 people have tested positive for malaria during the first three months of 2006. The number of malaria cases could be larger in remote areas because residents cannot easily travel to the hospital. Although hospital officials were not available to confirm the number of deaths among the 515 malaria patients, a hospital nursing officer said that about 200 people have died from the disease since an outbreak occurred in January (Alphonse, The National, 4/4).