COMMUNITY BASED TB ELIMINATION PROGRAM SCREEN OVER 80% RESIDENTS IN DARU

Pictures Supplied by Australia High Commission, Port Moresby

WITH support from the Australian Government, a community wide effort to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) on Daru Island has achieved a major milestone, screening more than 84% of eligible residents through the Systematic Community Wide Engagement and Elimination Project for Tuberculosis (SWEEP TB).

SWEEP TB is an Australian Government funded initiative implemented by Burnet Institute, in partnership with the Western Provincial Health Authority.

Launched in 2023, the project set out to screen, test and treat every resident of Daru, aiming to stop TB transmission early and protect those most at risk. The approach combines door-to-door outreach, rapid referral for testing, and preventive treatment for people at heightened risk, especially young people aged 5–34 years.

The project has screened over 18,000 people across nearly 3,000 households.

“Identifying people with TB in the community before they become unwell is critical to breaking the chain of transmission,” said Dr Aung Aung, Burnet Institute tuberculosis specialist.

“More than half of those diagnosed with active TB were asymptomatic, meaning they could have unknowingly spread
the disease.”

“We detected many of these asymptomatic cases using mobile chest Xray machines with computer-aided detection for TB related abnormalities – a vital tool for finding infections that would otherwise go unnoticed,” he
added.

While many TB programs rely on patients presenting to hospitals once symptoms develop, community-based, proactive strategies are essential in locations like Daru to reduce transmission. By bringing screening and support directly to households, SWEEP TB helps connect people to care sooner.

“Providing TB preventive treatment to young people 5 to 34 years who do not have active TB offers crucial protection,” Dr Aung explained. “It reduces their risk of developing the disease and further transmission in the future.

We’ve already initiated preventive treatment for more than 2,800 people who were eligible.”

SWEEP TB teams worked alongside community leaders to build awareness of TB symptoms and treatment, encourage household participation, and ddress stigma that can keep people from seeking help.

Eileen Soro, Burnet Institute Public Health Coordinator, said the Western Provincial Health Authority (WPHA) played an instrumental role in enabling d TB infection screening, treatment and prevention.
“That collaboration helped us gain trust quickly and reach families right
across Daru,” she said.

As screening increases across Daru, the project’s focus is increasingly on timely diagnosis, linkage to treatment and support for treatment completion, including follow-up for contacts and continued access to preventive therapy
where appropriate.

These next steps are critical to sustain reduced transmission over time.