...My personal observations tell me that installing a doctor in the mission for two half days a week does little to nothing for the these childhood victims either.

...It is impossible not to notice the influx of the poorer whites from the neighboring towns using this valuable free service on the mission, as their only alternative to Doctors who refuse to bulk bill in town.

...A medical profession which exhibits greed and total self-interest as a priority is a big problem in the bush: Add the tyranny of distance to specialized medical services for the only effective treatment in the end; add all the above paradigm to the self-interest and total ignorance of the political class, and the recipe for neglect of a basic childhood medical complaint is complete.

...The author of this article paints a very bleak but accurate picture of the existence of many many children in the Australian bush.

Ear disease is so common in NT people in communities have developed their own sign language dialects - the government's callous ignore of this health problem has made common spoken languages completely redundant. 95% - can you believe it?

These are appalling statistics - what causes middle ear disease, can it be prevented or cured, why isn't this happening?

Elizabeth vividly describes the many problems of children [and adults] with current and later problems from ME disease.
Pain from ear disease can be from acute ear infection but infants who reflux and have allergies can have severe ear pain from pressure problems in their ears when their Eustachian tubes are blocked or partly blocked. The vomiting acid irritates the opening of the ET. Because they are allergic kids the tissues react with swelling and producing mucus, so they start with ETs not working well then may go on and get glue ear and ear infection.
These infants have ear pain when lying down and when sucking, so they cry a lot and some are at risk of being shaken or damaged because of the constant crying.
If not diagnosed early and treated well they risk having all the later problems that Elizabeth described. I call this condition Eustachian tube Irritation.

Basically , we have to wean them off western rubbish food and back onto bush foods. This will boost their immune system to combat infections.

Family planning to educate them on the benefits of small family size, say 2 children; will in addition provide more resources per person , to turn around poverty.

Cheers,

Ralph

Hi Candide, it is a h-u-g-e region - totally vast - and there is hardly any access to medical care, and the little that there is, is stymied by how intermittent it is.

The study in Bulga Ngaru showed in that area a diet high in fruit and vegetables assisted in reducing the rates of skin disease and middle-ear disease. Such a study to work out if it could relate to diet has not been conducted in the NW to my knowledge - research funding is limited I've been told. A diet high in f+v would help everyone in society, quite regardless of cultural heritage.

A lot of homes in the NW are over-crowded due to high rents($1000+ p/w) that are directly related to the demand on housing from mine sites, so, often, a lot of family all live together - not one set of parents and one large set of kids, though, but aunties, uncles, grandparents etc

In my family and in my friends' the disease is intergenerational - and, as we don't live in "poverty" and we don't have poor diets, I think there is a strong argument that it is hereditary but some doctors believe that it is the predisposition to it that is passed down - like food allergies and grass/pollen allergies etc.I don't think much research has been done hands-on, living with Aboriginal people - or any people with long-term glue ear.