Typhoid hits prison

By MARJORIE FINKEO
ELEVEN warders, the prison commander and some prisoners diagnosed with typhoid and malaria in Daru are calling on authorities to move them out immediately.
Daru prison acting commander Inspector Dura Geru, who is one of those sick, and prison officers are receiving treatment at the Daru General Hospital. The sick prisoners too are being treated at the hospital.
Provincial health officials had condemned the facility last month but nothing was done to fix the health and safety issues highlighted.
Geru said they were therefore “illegally working and living” there.
“There is high possibility of a typhoid breakout in the prison,” he said.
He said warders contracted typhoid and malaria after having to work 12-hour shifts in the condemned and mosquito-ridden facilities.
“Most of our prisoners are sick. Three times a day we are taking prisoners to Daru General Hospital for treatment because they have typhoid,” he said.
He said officers from the Correctional Service (CS) department headquarters in Port Moresby visited the prison two weeks ago but nothing had been done since to fix the problems.
“We cannot wait for someone to die and then start taking action. Everyday prisoners are sick and officers are exhausted,” he said.
He said they needed help from authorities in the provincial and government levels.
“We need to move out. We want an immediate eviction this week. Prisoners can move to safer grounds as well as staff because our health is already at risk,” he said. CS Commissioner Stephen Pokanis recently said officers were sent to the prison to assess the situation and compile a report so that a contractor could be engaged to carry out repair work.
Health authorities had given the prison authorities another 10 days to fix the problems after the initial notice of 10 days lapsed on Feb 14.
Hospital authorities could not be contacted for comment yesterday.
Typhoid is a bacterial infection that can lead to a high fever, diarrhoea and vomiting. It is caused by the bacteria Salmonella typhi.
The infection is often passed on through contaminated food and drinking water, and it is more prevalent in places where handwashing is less frequent.
Typhoid fever is also called enteric fever. Malaria is a life-threatening disease. It is typically transmitted through the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito. Infected mosquitoes carry the Plasmodium parasite. Malaria is typically found in tropical and subtropical climates where the parasites can live. Malaria is also called plasmodium infection.