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Swine fatalities
THREE women in remote Mt Bosavi and Walagu,
in Southern Highlands province have died after eating contaminated pork,
while an estimated 1,000 pigs are known to have died from an outbreak of
an as yet unidentified disease.
The pigs had developed swollen neck, flu and fever and parts of their
bodies were decaying causing them to die within days.
Other animal species were reported to have died after developing similar
symptoms and authorities fear the rivers and creeks are contaminated by
dead animals.
Mt Bosavi and Walgu are situated close to the border of Western and Gulf
provinces and are only accessible by air transportation.
Over 16,000 people live in this remote area, which is three walking days
from Moro in Kutubu.
Deputy controller of the State of Emergency Norman Kambo and Southern
Highlands provincial livestock expert John Kunjip were flown by a
chartered Oil Search helicopter into Bosavi and Walagu to investigate
the epidemic last Wednesday.
Although no official diagnosis had been made at this stage, Mr Kambo is
fearful the disease could be the dreaded ‘weapon anthrax’ said to be
caused by gunpowder poisoning.
Mr Kambo believes the disease may have been brought in by migratory
animals from the Indonesian province of Papua, where poachers are known
to be using guns to hunt animals.
Similar cases have been reported in Western and Gulf provinces, where
hunters have come across with live animals having decaying limbs.
In Walagu, the decaying intestines of a live pig were exposed and the
stench was awfully unbearable, resembling the description related by
sources familiar with weapons anthrax.
Mr Kambo said arrangements were being made with the acting provincial
administrator William Powi to fly in livestock and health experts to
collect human and animal blood samples for testing.
The provincial administration would also assist by dispatching
agriculture experts to collect water and crop samples for testing.
According to Jackson Honia, the local medical officer in Walagu, up to
200 people have complained of fever and were being treated with
antibiotics, prompting fears the disease could be transmitted from
animals to humans.
The medical drugs at Walagu aid post have run out and Mr Honia has made
an urgent plea to the security forces and the Southern Highlands
administration to bring in more medicine and food supplies for the
people affected.
He said the people cannot prepare sago or go fishing and hunting because
their food sources were contaminated.
“We have a very serious problem and we need medicine and food supplies,”
he said.
Mr Kambo said he would consult the provincial administration, other
relevant Government authorities and the national disaster and emergency
services to source out ways and means of assisting the people affected.
He has also urged the villagers to bury dead animals in deep graves to
prevent them from being exhumed by other scavenging animals.
But the villagers in Mt Bosavi and Walagu say there are too many pigs
dying and the stench is just too much to bear.
If the disease is preventable, the Department of Livestock in Southern
Highlands province may attempt to carry out a vaccination programme in
the area buy they would need logistics and manpower to effectively carry
out the vaccination programme.
 
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