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.