10 Nov 2010

Medical supplies bound for PNG's Daru amid suspected cholera outbreak

7:48 pm on 10 November 2010

A chartered flight with urgently needed medical supplies is expected to land on Papua New Guinea's Daru island today, where a suspected cholera outbreak has so far taken the lives of 13 people.

More than 200 people have sought treatment at Daru Hospital, with 65 people admitted to hospital.

A team from Port Moresby, including World Health Organisation and AusAid staff is due to arrive on the island to assess the situation and provide support to those on the ground.

Papua New Guinea's Public Health executive director, Enoch Posanai, says the hospital is prepared for an outbreak but in need of medical supplies because of shipping problems.

"We've been given the list of the urgent medical supplies that they need from here, and we're making arrangements to have a charter flight organised to relieve some of these supplies over to Daru, IV fluids and water purification and so on."

Papua New Guinea's Public Health executive director, Enoch Posanai.