Country sees dramatic spike in TB

Papua New Guinea has recorded a dramatic increase in the number of Tuberculosis cases, and remains among the high-burden countries in the Western Pacific region.

Last year, there were over 51-thousand TB cases diagnosed, with 1380 deaths including 723 cases of multidrug-resistant TB.

Today’s World TB day commemoration in the nation’s capital spotlighted these very concerning statistics.

The country continues to face a heavy TB burden, with higher transmission in NCD and Lae of over 8000 cases and more than 6,000 respectively. 

National TB notification data suggests an eight-fold increase from about 6,000 in 2008 to over 51,000 last year.

NDOH National Disease Control Manager Dr. Peniel Boas highlights that between 4-13 people die daily to this disease, however only about 3 deaths are officially recorded:

WHO Country Representative Dr. Josaiah Tiko described the TB prevalence in the country as a public health concern – adding it is preventable and curable.

People presenting with symptoms of persistent coughing for more than a week, fever, night sweats and unexplained weight loss are encouraged to immediately go for testing.

This year’s global theme is, “Yes! We can end TB: Led by countries, powered by people."