Oz blames PNG for TB

TUBERCULOSIS is spreading in Australia due to migrants and travellers from Papua New Guinea bringing the killer disease across the state’s “fluid” far north border.
Tuberculosis control centre director Dr Tom Konstantinos said more resources were needed to fight the highly contagious condition.
While migrants are screened for TB, it could lay dormant in a carrier’s body for months before it can be detected.
Dr Konstantinos said it was “certainly true” tuberculosis was on the rise “across Australia”.
“It is related to a change in migration patterns and increased incidence of people developing TB after they have migrated,” he said.
He said there were high rates of the disease in PNG, Tuvalu and Solomon Islands.
“Our immediate neighbours are causing a bigburden for us in Queensland,” he said.
Dr Konstantinos warned it was a “burden” on health facilities in Cairns and the far north.