Kudjip Nazarene Hospital, Papua New Guinea (PNG):  Tuberculosis is something many of us might not think too much about. In the highlands of Papua New Guinea, they not only are thinking about it, but face it head-on every day.

Dr. Erin Meier, Missionary Doctor, Papua New Guinea.

“One of the reasons why I love practicing medicine here at Kudjip Nazarene Hospital in the highlands of PNG is because I get to do something new all the time,” says Dr. Erin Meier (medical missionary at Kudjip Nazarene Hospital). Prior to going to PNG, Meier had never cared for anyone with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) or TB  (tuberculosis) and now she is one of the main doctors along with the hospital team who treats these patients. It takes much reading, research and consultation with other doctors who have experience in these areas to be equipped and be able to care for those in need.

One of these opportunities to learn came when Dr. Meier was treating a child with TB who was not improving as expected.

Tuberculosis seen on X-ray

“Just looking at him I was worried he still had TB,” said Meier. The child had finished the normal TB treatment but was still losing weight and coughing.   Dr. Meier wondered if the child’s body was resisting the medicines given. A chest Xray confirmed that the child still had TB.

“The rest of the world has had drug resistant TB (tuberculosis) for years.  [We have had it as well] here in PNG, but proving it at Kudjip Hospital has been a challenge, until now,” states Dr. Meier.

“When the expected improvement isn’t seen, multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) is suspected,” said Dr. Meier.

According to Dr. Meier, until just 5 months ago the only treatment option was to give an injectable medicine for 2 months and hope that it would be enough to treat the TB. Sometimes it was and sometimes it wasn’t.

“That all changed when the hospital received the Gene Xpert machine from the Australian government,” shares Meier. “This is a machine that can determine if someone’s TB is drug resistant.  The child with TB had the Gene Xpert test and the results written in his book were MDR-TB.”

MDR-TB requires at least 8 months of a daily injectable medicine plus pills, followed by 12 or more months of additional  pills. That is about 2 years of a person’s life spent trying to get rid of TB. The alternative is likely death.

Through connections with the National TB program in PNG, Dr. Meier is able to be in communication with a doctor in Port Moresby who is coordinating treatment of patients who have MDR-TB.

Special isolation ward being built at Kudjip Hospital for Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis

Treating TB not only demands long term medical treatment, but also the need for a ward to separate the MDR-TB patients from other TB patients.

Prayer Requests:

“Please pray for the medical team and staff at Kudjip Nazarene Hospital that they will continue to grow in knowledge of best practices and treatment for MDR-TB patients,” asks Dr. Meier.

The team is praying that through their compassionate care and treatment of these TB patients, each patient will understand more of God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ.

Please also pray for the physical protection of our medical teams who are daily interacting, and sharing the love of Christ with those who are in such need.

See more about Nazarene Health Ministries in Papua New Guinea. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO): Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs.  TB is curable and preventable.    Click here for more information on TB.

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— Submitted – Dr. Erin Meier – Click this link for more stories on her blog.