Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Five people die of dysentery in remote area of Papua New Guinea

Posted at 18:44 on 27 March, 2008 UTC

Five people have died of dysentery in a remote area of Morobe Province in Papua New Guinea.

Health officials had initially thought the five, in a village near Bulolo and Wau, had had typhoid, but investigations revealed it was dysentery.

The Post Courier newspaper reports the Provincial health adviser, Dr Likei Theo, saying that medical teams were last month sent into the area to verify the disease and determine the causes.

He says the outbreak was caused by the villagers’ water supply being contaminated with human and animal waste.