Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

PNG’s Madang Province officials say cholera is spreading to new areas

Posted at 00:32 on 18 November, 2009 UTC

The Madang health department in Papua New Guinea says a worsening cholera outbreak affecting over 400 people is spreading to new areas.

The province’s health director Mark Kachau says while the disease was contained in a settlement just outside of Madang city, it’s now moving to other settlements.

“It’s spreading in small numbers to other parts of the town. We’ve also received at least one report from one of our districts.”

Mark Kachau says a newly built cholera centre is helping health officials to cope with the about twenty new patients a day.