Home > News > NK Human Rights Issues

 
Date : October 20, 2015
North Korean Children Left Untreated After Tuberculous Meningitis Outbreak
   http://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/outbreak-09252015150455.html [1050]
A recent outbreak of tuberculous meningitis (a bacterial infection of the brain and spinal cord) in North Korea has left many children dead and others crippled after authorities failed to diagnose and treat the infection in a timely manner, sources inside the country said.

Many parents have also been unable to cure their children of the infection, which can cause death if left untreated, due to the scarcity of pharmaceuticals in the impoverished country, as well as the enormous costs associated with treatment, the sources told RFAs Korean Service.

A large number of urban schools and daycare centers in North Korea were affected with the outbreak between July and August, according to one source from North Hamgyong province, near the border with China.

While authorities moved quickly to shutter the facilities and control the spread of the infection, mortality rates among children already affected have been high, he said, while those who have not died continue to experience severe symptoms due to a lack of complete treatment.

A source from Chagang province told RFA that many childrens hospitals had failed to diagnose cases due to backward medical facilities and poorly skilled staff, and said the outbreak was only identified through a government investigation launched following the rapid spread of the infection.

However, even after the outbreak was identified, hospitals often lacked the necessary drugs for treatment, and when parents were able to find the drugs in pharmacies or in Jangmadang (unofficial marketplaces), they could rarely afford them, for one bottles of 20 miligram pills sells for 4,000 won which is equivalent of an entire month of wages for managers of rural factories, he said.

While North Koreas constitution states that all citizens have access to free medical care, a report released last May by the Seoul-based Citizens Alliance for North Korean Human Rights said that many illnesses go untreated if the patient is unable to provide money or gifts to doctors.

[Source: Radio Free Asia]

Prev  Next