Outbreak of cholera in flood-hit areas
Sunday, 12 August 2007
Flood water has started receding from most of the affected districts after creating serious disruption in normal life of millions of people and causing extensive damage to standing crops and physical infrastructures. And the people who are now leading a miserable life in makeshift shelters would soon start leaving for their flood-battered homes unless the situation deteriorated again. Media reports tend to point out that relief operations in the flood-hit areas were inadequate, mainly because of low-level of participation by the socio-political and non-governmental organisations. Soon, the government would have to embark on a massive rehabilitation programme in the flood-affected areas. But what seems to be the more urgent duty for the administration is to stop diarrhoeal diseases, including cholera, from turning into an epidemic in the flood-hit areas. The incidences of pneumonia, typhoid and skin diseases are also reportedly high in these areas.
The outbreak of diarrhoea during and after the floods is a common phenomenon in this part of the world, mainly because of severe shortage of safe drinking water and scarcity of food items. The marooned people are forced to drink contaminated water and eat stale and unsafe food. And the cases of cholera among the diarrhoeal patients have been 15 to 20 per cent during earlier floods. But this year, the situation appears to be different. Nearly 60 to 70 per cent of the diarrhoeal patients -- a great majority of them are children -- treated at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases, Bangladesh (ICDDR, B) and its clinics are cholera cases. The return of cholera, which had claimed millions of lives in the sub-continent before the invention of intra-venous (IV) fluid and effective antibiotics, with full fury should be a matter of serious concern for all, including the medical professionals. The availability of safe drinking water in rural areas through the installation of hand tube-wells, mainly at the courtesy of the Unicef, has also helped, to a great extent, in bringing down cholera cases in the country.
The diarrhoeal patients are facing a couple of problems now. There are not enough facilities to treat them and IV fluids and oral re-hydration saline (ORS) sachets are in short supply in the market. The ICDDR,B has extended its facilities to treat patients to the maximum extent possible. Other public health facilities in districts and at Upazila level need to be geared up to address this emergency health problem by ensuring adequate supply of IV fluids and necessary antibiotics and proper attendance of all the doctors on their payroll. Besides, the directorate of health and the army should despatch medical teams without delay, particularly, to the inaccessible flood-affected areas to help out the people afflicted with various diseases, particularly the water-borne ones. The independent bodies of the medical professionals do also need to respond to the call of duty and come in aid of the suffering humanity.
The government's relief and rehabilitation efforts need to be supplemented by political, social, NGOs and individuals. This has become more essential now than before because of the prevailing price situation. The flood victims, particularly those belonging to the poorer sections of the society, would require outside help for quite sometime before making a fresh start on their own. At the top of the help-list should be safe drinking water and food items.
The outbreak of diarrhoea during and after the floods is a common phenomenon in this part of the world, mainly because of severe shortage of safe drinking water and scarcity of food items. The marooned people are forced to drink contaminated water and eat stale and unsafe food. And the cases of cholera among the diarrhoeal patients have been 15 to 20 per cent during earlier floods. But this year, the situation appears to be different. Nearly 60 to 70 per cent of the diarrhoeal patients -- a great majority of them are children -- treated at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases, Bangladesh (ICDDR, B) and its clinics are cholera cases. The return of cholera, which had claimed millions of lives in the sub-continent before the invention of intra-venous (IV) fluid and effective antibiotics, with full fury should be a matter of serious concern for all, including the medical professionals. The availability of safe drinking water in rural areas through the installation of hand tube-wells, mainly at the courtesy of the Unicef, has also helped, to a great extent, in bringing down cholera cases in the country.
The diarrhoeal patients are facing a couple of problems now. There are not enough facilities to treat them and IV fluids and oral re-hydration saline (ORS) sachets are in short supply in the market. The ICDDR,B has extended its facilities to treat patients to the maximum extent possible. Other public health facilities in districts and at Upazila level need to be geared up to address this emergency health problem by ensuring adequate supply of IV fluids and necessary antibiotics and proper attendance of all the doctors on their payroll. Besides, the directorate of health and the army should despatch medical teams without delay, particularly, to the inaccessible flood-affected areas to help out the people afflicted with various diseases, particularly the water-borne ones. The independent bodies of the medical professionals do also need to respond to the call of duty and come in aid of the suffering humanity.
The government's relief and rehabilitation efforts need to be supplemented by political, social, NGOs and individuals. This has become more essential now than before because of the prevailing price situation. The flood victims, particularly those belonging to the poorer sections of the society, would require outside help for quite sometime before making a fresh start on their own. At the top of the help-list should be safe drinking water and food items.