28/09/2025
YAWS OUTBREAK IN GOILALA AND MALALAUA DISTRICTS
Since the beginning of this year there has been an outbreak of Yaws in some villages of the Goilala and Malalaua Districts.
These two districts share a common border which might explain how the disease has spread between the two areas.
Yaws is a viral infection that causes big, ugly open sores on the body that look similar to tropical ulcers but are different because they are CONTAGIOUS meaning that the sores can be passed from one person to another just by touching (mainly kids but adults too), and because they don't heal up when you give common antibiotics like amoxicillin.
However the treatment is very simple, just one dose of azithromycin tablets will kill the infection and the sores will heal up like magic after one week.
The problem is that it’s very easy to catch the infection again from another person so the Yaws just keeps going round and round the village and the only way to stop it for good is to give the tablets to everybody in the district at the same time. This is called a mass drug administration (MDA). It’s a very big job and quite an expensive exercise because thousands of people have to be reached and given the tablets.
The Central Provincial Health Authority and the Gulf Provincial Health Authority are aware of this outbreak of Yaws and both PHA’s said they will organise MDA but nothing has happened yet. Recent news indicates that village people have brought this disease to Port Moresby as well.
PNG Flexi Care's private contracted health workers working out in the rural villages and NCD settlements are just struggling to treat all the people turning up with these horrible sores.
Unfortunately some of the junior CHW’s in the local clinics and health centres are not experienced with recognising Yaws sores and they are misdiagnosing the sores as “ulcer” and giving the wrong treatment.
If you or your family members have these sores you need to go to a clinic and get treatment with azithromycin.
