В Папуа — Новой Гвинее из-за нехватки лекарств больница лечит дизентерию только капельницами

THE prolonged dry season in Menyamya, Morobe, has triggered a dysentery outbreak in Wapi local level government (LLG), with a sub-health centre now treating patients with only intravenous (IV) fluids, having run out of antibiotics almost three months ago. The outbreak is affecting wards 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, following the dry conditions which began in June and caused water levels to drop, food gardens to wither, and communities to turn to rivers for drinking and washing. Former nursing officer and local, Andrew Yana, claimed that following this, people began experiencing severe abdominal pain, dysentery, and nausea symptoms. He said the first wave of patients were taken to Kapo Sub-Health Centre, run by Lutheran Health Services. Yana said health officers recorded 17 adults and five children aged between one to five years old. “Nursing staff could only attend to them with chloramphenicol injections and IV drips to resuscitate them before admitting them,” he said. “But the centre’s drug supplies ran out after one week.” A nursing officer serving at the sub-health centre confirmed the facility had been without antibiotics for almost three months. “We are using Prinivil and Simponi injections at the moment and appealing for further assistance,” the officer said. Yana said to properly treat dysentery, the centre needed Septrine, Panadol, Tinidazole and Flagyl. After visiting the sub-health centre, he confirmed that these medical drugs were not in stock. Wapi LLG has 15 wards with an estimated population of 17,000, and the sub-health centre caters for 13 wards, while Pinake aid post assists. “The remaining two wards get services from the main LLG referral health centre, which is also facing shortages,” he said. “With no drugs available, nursing officers are now only attending to emergency cases, while others are treating themselves at home using traditional methods. “We made a call on social media for medical drugs to be restocked. “I even reached out to the district and they responded that there are committees responsible for collecting assessment reports.” The community is now appealing for urgent support. “This marks the second week that residents have gone without basic drugs at the facility,” Yana said.