Health officials say ten apparently mysterious deaths in remote northern villages in Papua New Guinea were due to a lack of health services in the area.
Last week the Department of Health responded to the reports by sending officials to the Upper Musa area in the Owen Stanley Ranges to verify causes of the deaths.
Dr Pison Dakulala, the deputy secretary of health, says the deaths were all the result of illnesses not being treated.
"This is a question of neglect and conditions that have come out have been as a result of not getting to be seen by health workers for a long long time and so general conditions of health deteriorated so that's what's resulted."
Dr Dakulala says the geography of the region also means it's difficult to get access to some of the villages in the area.
