By HARLYNE JOKU
A health team has been sent to Dilava in the Goilala district of Central province to assess reports of people showing strange symptoms of an unknown sickness there over the weekend.
The Central province acting provincial administrator Francis Koaba confirmed this week that the team from the Central Provincial Health Authority will conduct a thorough check of the sick especially in the area of Kodege.
The health team comprises of Doctor- Kelvin Konigala, Health Executive officer Tony Avaut, Surveillance Officer Richard Oaeke, a nurse, a Health Executive Office, a Disaster Officer and a Community Health Officer.
Surveillance Officer Richard Oeke when interviewed said the situation as ‘ not a disease outbreak’ as reported but a ‘chronic disease’ that has existed in the area for some time.
“This is the third report of this kind of symptoms which has been experienced by the people especially in Kodege area.
“We will interview the people about the symptoms and collect blood and stool test samples, the samples will be brought back to test in our laboratory in Port Moresby to establish the cause of the disease,” Mr Oaeke said.
Dr Konigala said the blood and stool tests will show if there is contamination or poison or toxic chemical in the patients’ blood sample.
The Sunday Bulletin reported last week about the ‘strange disease’ experienced in the community that was numbing arms and legs of people there causing them to walk crookedly and in a disable manner.
A group of six people including two girls with these symptoms were flown in to Port Moresby last Sunday to seek medical attention. Three who were in a worser condition remained due to bad weather.
A community health worker who was there to assist them, Madeline Koma said the villages suspect this is the result of toxic chemical spills or leakages from the operations of the former Tolukuma gold Mine.
She also suggested the use of mercury by alluvial gold miners in the vicinity and leakages of toxic chemicals from the former Tolukuma gold mine’s underground tunnels.
In the past when the former Tolukuma Gold Mine was in operation in the 90’s and mid-20s, there were two incidents of Cyanide Spills in the Dilava area. Cyanide pallets strapped to choppers airlifting them from their helipad at Doa – Veimauri fell off into the valley.
Meanwhile, the concerned community leader Cyril Simana who paid for the charter bringing in the first group last Sunday called on the Central Provincial Government to build a health center and provide medical services in the area.
Mr Simana said if it is too costly to build a health centre, the Health Authority should fly in a health team regularly to provide health services.
“We need an aid post to be built in Dilava, if not a medical team must visit us monthly or subsidize my flight charters so I can move the patients to Port Moresby when they fall sick,” a concerned Mr Simana said.