Dirty water may kill survivors of deadly tidal wave

Dirty water may kill survivors of deadly tidal wave

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Survivors of the earthquake and tidal waves, which devastated
Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and parts of North Sumatra a week ago,
are now facing a new deadly threat as diseases spread in the
wrecked province.

More than 100,000 people are currently languishing in
temporary shelters and camps across Aceh and North Sumatra, with
many suffering from diarrhea, fever, skin irritations,
respiratory infections, headaches and stomach problems.

Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari warned that the
survivors would face infectious diseases due to a lack of medical
services.

"We fear that survivors may fall victim (to diseases). The
health of injured refugees who have been admitted to hospitals in
Aceh is declining, due to a lack of medical equipment and
medicine, particularly injectable antibiotics," she said on
Friday.

Siti said babies and children were most vulnerable to lung
infections, malaria, diarrheal diseases, cholera and measles,
which usually emerge after floods.

Nearly all hospitals and medical centers in towns affected by
the tsunami in Aceh and North Sumatra were badly damaged.
Hospitals in Banda Aceh, Nagan Raya, West Aceh and Aceh Jaya
suffered the most damage.

In Banda Aceh, volunteers desperately tried to bury thousands
of corpses rotting in tropical temperatures in the hope of
curbing the spread of diseases.

Agoes Koeshartono, who leads the Indonesian Red Crescent
volunteers in Aceh, said that many survivors of the tsunami were
suffering diseases, particularly of the lungs.

"Over the past five days, many people have died because of
this. They survived the waves but they died of infections and
breathing failure," Agoes was quoted as saying by AFP.

A survivor, named as Junaidi, was observed in a Red Crescent
field hospital in Banda Aceh with wounds oozing pus and lungs
gasping for air.

"I swallowed dirty water and the doctor said I have problems
with my lungs and my stomach lining is damaged," he said.

Chief of the Danish Red Cross Jorgen Poulsen admitted that the
biggest problem they faced was lack of clean water since the
water is poisoned by the numbers of corpses clogging canals,
according to Reuters.

"You have serious waterborne diseases such as dysentery,
(which are like) a ticking time bomb. We hope we can avoid
cholera. The problem is we have already seen people vomiting in
town," he said.

Military personnel and volunteers, however, have been
preparing to remove bodies clogging the canals using rubber boats
and armed with black plastic sheets.

The condition has been worsened by heavy rain that hampered
the relief effort and exacerbated poor sanitary conditions.
However, the tropical rain has also delivered relief to survivors
who are desperate for clean water.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) reiterated its
warning that tens of thousands could still succumb to diseases
such as cholera.

The key to averting the health catastrophe emerging from the
tsunami ruins will be basic hygiene -- clean water and toilets --
medical officials said, reporting no major disease outbreaks but
warning that the worst may be just around the corner.

They said dirty drinking and washing water combined with lack
of proper sewage disposal are a recipe for outbreaks of life-
threatening diarrheal diseases such as cholera, typhoid and
dysentery, as well as some forms of hepatitis.

"These are the sort of diseases that could occur any time
now," Dr. Michelle Gayer, a WHO infectious diseases specialist,
was quoted by AP as saying on Saturday.

The waterborne illnesses threatening the region are caused by
bugs in traces of feces, which can easily end up in the mouth not
only when people don't wash their hands before eating or
preparing food, but also if plates and utensils are washed in
sewage-contaminated water.