Majuro Mayor Ladie Jack (L) and Health Minister Kalani Kaneko were among the first to participate in the mass TB and leprosy screening programme launched in Majuro, capital of the Marshall Islands, last week. Photo: RNZ/Kelly Lorennij
The Marshall Islands ministry of health has launched a programme to screen 26,000 people for tuberculosis and leprosy.
Initial results show a high turnout for the programme, with 1400 screened during the first week.
The mass screening follows a similar programme on Ebeye island last year which saw TB infections reduced by half.
Health officials say at least one in four Majuro residents are positive for TB, most of them with latent TB meeting they're at high risk of getting sick in future.
"Our Hawaii data - recent testing for over 3,000 Marshallese who were tested for TB in Hawaii - indicates that 28 percent of the population is TB skin test positive," said Dr. Richard Brostrom, a TB expert from the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), who is in Majuro working with local health officials.
"The actual rate in the general population in Majuro is unknown, but is likely close to that number."
Health officials estimate that over 7,000 people in Majuro out of a population of 28,000 have latent TB.
CDC and World Health Organization (WHO) officials are supporting the screening and treatment in Majuro with funding, technical assistance, supplies and volunteer medical staff.
"There are too many cases of TB in the Marshall Islands, and we can do something about that," Dr Brostrom said at Monday's launch where.top government leaders lined up to be the first to be screened,
Dr Brostrom made the point that "this is not a surveillance project. Working with the hospital and public health staff, we are not here to count, we are here to cure."
The Marshall Islands ranks in the top 10 countries with the highest prevalence of TB, and is in the top three globally for leprosy.
In 2013, the RMI was the second most TB-affected country - this year it is number 11, according to health officials, indicating last year's treatment programme at Ebeye significantly reduced the problem.
The biggest challenge to successful screening, based on the experience last year on Ebeye, is getting men to come forward to be screened.
"In Ebeye, we struggled getting the men to come and be screened," said Brostrom. "This is pretty typical. Around the world, men typically do not place a high priority on preventive healthcare."
The Majuro screening and treatment programme is scheduled to continue into September, with the goal of seeing 150 people daily.
Health organisations are providing free medication for those who test positive.