Myanmar cyclone survivors battle malaria, diarrhea outbreaks
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May 13, 2008, 6:08:57 AM5/13/08
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Myanmar cyclone survivors battle malaria, diarrhea outbreaks
Enlarge Photo Myanmar cyclone survivors battle malaria, diarrhea
outbreaks, 1st Ld-Writethru, AS Thu, May 8 10:11 PM
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) _ Reports of malaria outbreaks and diarrhea in
Myanmar's low-lying areas hardest hit by a disastrous cyclone have
health experts scrambling to prevent widespread illness, U.N.
health officials said Thursday. An early estimate had 20 percent of
children suffering from diarrhea in the worst-affected areas, and
there are concerns that the situation could worsen, said Osamu Kunii,
UNICEF's chief of health and nutrition in Yangon.
"Most of the area is covered by dirty water," he said. "There's a lot
of dead bodies, and (survivors) have very poor access sometimes no
access to clean drinking water or food.
" Water purification tablets often do not help because much of the
water supply has been contaminated by saltwater that flooded the area,
he said, and that poses yet another problem for relief efforts. It was
unclear how many people may be suffering from malaria, but the
mosquito-borne disease is endemic to the Irrawaddy delta, the area
hardest hit by the storm, said Poonam Khetrapal Singh, deputy director
of the WHO's Southeast Asia office in New Delhi.
She said 10,000 mosquito nets were being sent to the area. There also
have been reports of upper respiratory infections among children.
"Safe water, sanitation, safe food. These are things that we feel are
priorities at the moment," Singh said.
A WHO team from the Myanmar office is working to assess the situation,
and a few international technical experts are making their way into
the country, Singh said. Cyclone Nargis lashed the country's largest
city, Yangon, along with its major rice-growing region this past
weekend.
Myanmar's state-run media has reported nearly 23,000 deaths and more
than 42,000 missing. But a top U.
S. diplomat has said the death toll could surpass 100,000.
"It reminds me of the tsunami, when every day the figures kept rising,
and that's really the pattern here," Singh said, referring to the 2004
Asian tsunami, which killed nearly 230,000 people. UNICEF's Kunii also
responded to some of the worst tsunami-hit areas, and he said the
situation in Myanmar is even worse in some ways because many more
people suffered severe injuries this time from the strong winds, high
tides and flooding.
He also noted that after the tsunami, food, water and other basic
necessities were much easier to access from inland areas that were not
hit by the killer waves. "This time, it is quite difficult because
most of the areas are quite remote and difficult to access," he said.
"We are trying our best. We are using all our medical supplies and
water purification and shelters.
" He said many people are scared about getting infections from the
bloated bodies strewn throughout the area, but there have been no
reports of infections linked to contact with corpses. Tens of
thousands of people die every year in Myanmar from widespread
illnesses such as tuberculosis, AIDS and diarrhea.
Malaria alone kills about 3,000 people annually, and children are
often most vulnerable. In 2000, the WHO ranked the military-run
country's health system as the world's worst after war-ravaged Sierra
Leone.
Hospitals exist in Myanmar, also known as Burma, but most cannot
afford treatment in a country where an estimated 90 percent of the
population lives on just US$1 (0.65) a day, millions go hungry and
about one in three children is malnourished.
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962 and the junta has been
widely criticized for large-scale human rights abuses and suppression
of pro-democracy parties. In September the military crushed peaceful
protests led by Buddhist monks and pro-democracy activists, killing at
least 31 people and leading to the arrest of thousands more.
____ Margie Mason covers medical issues for The Associated Press
across the Asia-Pacific. She is based in Hanoi, Vietnam.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/associatedpress/20080508/r_t_ap_hl/thl-myanmar-cyclone-survivors-battle-mal-9a17221.html
Enlarge Photo Myanmar cyclone survivors battle malaria, diarrhea
outbreaks, 1st Ld-Writethru, AS Thu, May 8 10:11 PM
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) _ Reports of malaria outbreaks and diarrhea in
Myanmar's low-lying areas hardest hit by a disastrous cyclone have
health experts scrambling to prevent widespread illness, U.N.
health officials said Thursday. An early estimate had 20 percent of
children suffering from diarrhea in the worst-affected areas, and
there are concerns that the situation could worsen, said Osamu Kunii,
UNICEF's chief of health and nutrition in Yangon.
"Most of the area is covered by dirty water," he said. "There's a lot
of dead bodies, and (survivors) have very poor access sometimes no
access to clean drinking water or food.
" Water purification tablets often do not help because much of the
water supply has been contaminated by saltwater that flooded the area,
he said, and that poses yet another problem for relief efforts. It was
unclear how many people may be suffering from malaria, but the
mosquito-borne disease is endemic to the Irrawaddy delta, the area
hardest hit by the storm, said Poonam Khetrapal Singh, deputy director
of the WHO's Southeast Asia office in New Delhi.
She said 10,000 mosquito nets were being sent to the area. There also
have been reports of upper respiratory infections among children.
"Safe water, sanitation, safe food. These are things that we feel are
priorities at the moment," Singh said.
A WHO team from the Myanmar office is working to assess the situation,
and a few international technical experts are making their way into
the country, Singh said. Cyclone Nargis lashed the country's largest
city, Yangon, along with its major rice-growing region this past
weekend.
Myanmar's state-run media has reported nearly 23,000 deaths and more
than 42,000 missing. But a top U.
S. diplomat has said the death toll could surpass 100,000.
"It reminds me of the tsunami, when every day the figures kept rising,
and that's really the pattern here," Singh said, referring to the 2004
Asian tsunami, which killed nearly 230,000 people. UNICEF's Kunii also
responded to some of the worst tsunami-hit areas, and he said the
situation in Myanmar is even worse in some ways because many more
people suffered severe injuries this time from the strong winds, high
tides and flooding.
He also noted that after the tsunami, food, water and other basic
necessities were much easier to access from inland areas that were not
hit by the killer waves. "This time, it is quite difficult because
most of the areas are quite remote and difficult to access," he said.
"We are trying our best. We are using all our medical supplies and
water purification and shelters.
" He said many people are scared about getting infections from the
bloated bodies strewn throughout the area, but there have been no
reports of infections linked to contact with corpses. Tens of
thousands of people die every year in Myanmar from widespread
illnesses such as tuberculosis, AIDS and diarrhea.
Malaria alone kills about 3,000 people annually, and children are
often most vulnerable. In 2000, the WHO ranked the military-run
country's health system as the world's worst after war-ravaged Sierra
Leone.
Hospitals exist in Myanmar, also known as Burma, but most cannot
afford treatment in a country where an estimated 90 percent of the
population lives on just US$1 (0.65) a day, millions go hungry and
about one in three children is malnourished.
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962 and the junta has been
widely criticized for large-scale human rights abuses and suppression
of pro-democracy parties. In September the military crushed peaceful
protests led by Buddhist monks and pro-democracy activists, killing at
least 31 people and leading to the arrest of thousands more.
____ Margie Mason covers medical issues for The Associated Press
across the Asia-Pacific. She is based in Hanoi, Vietnam.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/associatedpress/20080508/r_t_ap_hl/thl-myanmar-cyclone-survivors-battle-mal-9a17221.html
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