New treatment posts in Daru

 FIVE treatment posts have been set up in Daru to help the hospital handle multi-drug resistant TB cases (MDRTB), a doctor said.

Health Department tuberculosis programme manager Dr Paul Aia told a media conference in Port Moresby last Friday there were so many diagnosed TB cases that the hospital could not take the load.

“What has happened so far now is that we’ve set up an emergency team, Aia said.

“They have organised the groundwork and  had the Daru hospital chief executive officer and the management on the ground in place and established the five treatment posts.” 

He said the treatment posts would help refer some patients from the Daru hospital so there would not be too much congestion. 

“What we’re doing is we’re bringing the base to the community.”

He said at the same time, this would make it easier for them to get treatment,” Aia said.

“We’ve set up five posts and it’s already in progress, all the cases from the hospitals have been transferred to the five community posts on the island of Daru.”

Aia said in 2014, there was a visit by the regional director for World Health Organisation (WHO) and the deputy health secretary to Daru where they found  there was a high number of MDRTB cases that were not being treated.