The PNG Health Department said the country’s first case of cholera occurred in late July in a remote village in Morobe province, on the country’s north coast.
Since then the disease has spread to another village, five people have died and around 80 have been infected.
The World Health Organization’s Dr. Eigil Sorensen said the remote location of the outbreak could help authorities contain it.
“I would be much more concerned if this was in an urban area, because to contain in an urban environment is really challenging,” he said.
Sorensen said the outbreak may have begun through someone eating uncooked shellfish.
Cholera spreads through contaminated food and water. If untreated, it has a 30 percent mortality rate.
