PNG declares health emergency

Three provinces affected after polio spread

SYDNEY: A public health emergency has been declared in three Papua New Guinea provinces after an outbreak of the potentially deadly poliovirus was confirmed this week.

In effect across Morobe, Madang and the Eastern Highlands, the decision was made by the National Executive Council following a meeting on Tuesday.

“This is not a state of emergency, but under the declaration and under my authority as the health minister, we will ensure those communities we suspect of poliovirus are not moving in and out of these infected areas,” PNG Minister for Health Puka Temu said.

Known to cause lifetime paralysis in children, the devastating disease was first detected by medical authorities in May, after a sixyear-old boy was admitted to hospital a month prior suffering from “lower leg weakness”.

Although the country was officially declared “polio-free” back in 2000 and has not had any reported cases since 1996, testing in the South Pacific nation’s second largest city, Lae, where the boy was from, revealed the virus had spread to at least two other children.

With the government of PNG, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Unicef all working around the clock to establish measures to “appropriately protect, constrain and isolate the situation”, authorities have began an emergency immunisation campaign to stop the spread.

“The Cabinet has therefore supported the health minister in declaring a health emergency, allocating an amount close to seven million PNG kino (RM8.8mil) in emergency interventions in terms of vaccinations in the immediate areas affected,” Deputy Prime Minister Charles Abel said.

“I want to thank the Global Fund through WHO for commencing some activities in these areas where 845 children have already received the necessary vaccinations.”

The public health emergency order will remain in place for at least 12 months.