Forecasting the Population-Level Impact of Reductions in HIV Antiretroviral Therapy in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea (PNG) recently did not secure external funding for the continuation of its antiretroviral treatment (ART) programs meaning that supplies of HIV drugs for the estimated 38,000 people living with HIV in PNG could be completely depleted during 2010. Using a mathematical model of HIV transmission calibrated to available HIV epidemiology data from PNG, we evaluated the expected population-level impact of reductions in ART availability. If the number of people on ART falls to 10% of its current level, then there could be an approximately doubling in annual incidence and an additional 12,848 AIDS-related deaths (100.7% increase) over the next 5 years; if ART provision is halved, then annual incidence would increase by ~68%, and there would be an additional ~10,936 AIDS-related deaths (85.7% increase). These results highlight that maintenance of ART and associated services through external funding is essential for the health and well-being of HIV-positive people in PNG

The Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Papua New Guinea: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Patellofemoral osteoarthritis (PF OA) is more prevalent than previously thought and contributes to patient's suffering from knee OA. Synthesis of prevalence data can provide estimates of the burden of PF OA

The bacteriology of skin sores in Goroka children.

The bacteriology of infected skin lesions was studied in paediatric outpatients. Thirty-nine untreated lesions were studied: 37 (95%) grew beta haemolytic streptococci (46% group A, 3% group B, 23% group C, 26% group G), 21 (54%) grew Staphylococcus aureus and 13 (33%) grew Corynebacterium haemolyticum. No attempt was made to selectively isolate Corynebacterium diphtheriae in this study. Vincent's organisms were seen in 13 (37%) of 35 gram stains from untreated lesions, including eight (73%) of 11 tropical ulcers. Twenty-three (92%) of the 25 strains of S. aureus isolated from untreated sores were resistant to penicillin