By HAIVETA KIVIA
THERE is a reported outbreak of dysentery at Salamaua High School in Morobe province.
A Grade 9 student from the school reportedly came over to Lae to seek medical treatment and was diagnosed with dysentery.
The student said there were many other students too with similar symptoms still at the school.
The National checked with the Huon district administrator Tony Ase to find out if there was an outbreak of dysentery at the school.
Mr Ase said he knew nothing of it and would be checking with his district health advisor and Salamaua health centre which is situated at the foothills of the high school to confirm if there was such an outbreak.
“I know nothing of it and will direct my staff to check it out,” he assured.
The student’s aunty, a registered nurse who wished to remain anonymous, said the symptoms and the history presented by the student clearly were those of dysentery.
The student told his aunty that he was vomiting blood and had diarrhea.
He added that there were many students who had similar signs and symptoms and many who came from nearby villages had left for their homes.
He said they were drinking water from the school’s water system which was murky and the same water was also used for cooking.
The student said the school water pump was unreliable and the water source was not safe for human consumption.
The source is also used by nearby villagers to wash sago and the refuse gets pumped into the system, he added.
“We have a dam where the water is pumped in and stored for the school’s use but when the water does not flow up to the school, the girls, whose dormitories are near the dam, go and wash in it,” he said.
He said the girls’ sanitation refuses were also found in the water system of the school.
A former female student of the school also confirmed that she and her friends used to wash in the dam.
“When there was no water in the school, we would wash in the dam ,” she said.
Students coming from villages with clean running water and creeks had left school over the years because of this ongoing water problem and related social problems they encountered.
The soil structure in the Salamaua area where the school is located is mainly of red clay.
It also has had negative effects on the school buildings, messing facilities and the water system.