TUBERCULOSIS (TB), a disease eradicated from the country in the late 1970s and early 1980s, has returned.
But the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) has still to announce what provinces the disease has reached their shores although it has announced the efforts to deal with it.
After the disease was eradicated, the MHMS closed down TB Wards in its hospitals in the country, including the Kirakira Hospital in the Makira-Ulawa Provincial Capital.
The hospital first reported TB cases in 2019/2020 and those affected were mostly children.
Kirakira Hospital staff spoken to then expressed their worry about the disease’s return as the hospital no longer has a TB Ward and the medicines to treat carriers.
At the same time, hospital staff revealed an outbreak of scabies in Tawatana village of West Makira.
A nearby clinic at Ubuna village has been reportedly giving out anti-scabies cream to Tawatana villagers and those from nearby villages of Ward 7, Arosi One, West Makira.
By George Atkin
West Makira Journalist
