by Colleen Barilae – EM TV, Lae
Limited TB facilities at the Angau Hospital, in Lae, continue to remain a problem for the hospital as cases of TB increase.
Deputy Chief Physician at the hospital, Dr. Belari, says there has to be more microscopy facilities that can screen for Tuberculosis at Angau.
Angau Hospital remains the only hospital in Morobe that does diagnosis for TB patients all over Morobe’s 10 districts.
TB statistics at Angau have risen over the years and the quantity of detection facilities needed to diagnose patients’ sputum is less than the number of TB patients who go to Angau hospital.
While drug treatment for TB is readily available, TB diagnosis, testing facilities remains an area that requires government attention.
As local hospitals in Papua New Guinea continue to exhaust their available resources to reduce TB in the country, the Australian government has also come in to fight TB in the Asia Pacific Region by pledging over K60 million to the country recently.
Six out of every 10 admissions at Angau hospital are TB cases. It is considered an alarming statistic representing the whole country.
The lab area that screens for TB at Angau is limited and microscopy facilities for diagnosis are few.
Angau has been diagnosing hundreds of patients with limited facilities and as the TB cases continue to increase, the government’s participation with resource funding is vital.
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