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Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gIFrS-jZWmcn8TPPRMclfEAiA7AQ
Diarrhoea outbreak after Bangladesh cyclone
KOYRA, Bangladesh (AFP) ? An outbreak of diarrhoea has spread across Bangladesh's south-west after a cyclone slammed into the south of the country and neighbouring India earlier in the week, officials said Sunday.
At least 237 people were killed after Cyclone Aila on Monday hit the low-lying coast north of the Bay of Bengal, where a military and civilian relief operation is now underway.
Doctors said diarrhoea had broken out at an "alarming rate" as inundation and waterlogging in a vast swathe of land close to the world's largest mangrove forest Sundarbans has destroyed supplies of drinking water.
In the worst affected Koyra, Dakope and Khulna districts at least two people have died and over 5000 people treated for diarrhoea, half in the last 24 hours, regional medical chief Lutfur Rahman Khan told AFP.
"The situation is alarming. So far we have more than 5000 people who are sick with diarrhoea in this region. Another 3000 have been treated for water borne diseases like dysentery," Khan said.
Khan said breached levees and washed away embankments enabled tidal seawater to inundate the region, destroying almost all sources of fresh drinking water.
"The crisis is worsening every day. People are leaving their villages for cities and towns," he said.
In neighbouring Satkhira district doctors have treated over 2000 cases of diarrhoea since the cyclone hit, again with half the cases reported in the last 24 hours, head of the district medical service Mohammad Ibadullah said.
The government said it has dispatched nearly 900 medical teams to tackle the crisis but charities and local officials warned any improvement would depend on how soon the authorities can rebuild the destroyed embankments.
The army had brought in fresh water supplies but not enough for the cyclone victims.
On Saturday Oxfam's Bangladesh operations chief Heather Blackwell called the situation "an emerging humanitarian crisis. And it's getting worse every day," adding more than one million people had been affected.
Some 167 people died in Bangladesh, where hundreds of thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed, while 70 people were killed in India as a result of the cyclone.
Of those killed in India's West Bengal state, 20 were killed in mudslides caused by rainfall a day after the storm hit.
The low-lying region frequently experiences tropical storms and cyclones during the monsoon season. In 2007, more than 3,500 people were killed, most of them in Bangladesh, when Cyclone Sidr lashed the same districts.
Diarrhoea outbreak after Bangladesh cyclone
KOYRA, Bangladesh (AFP) ? An outbreak of diarrhoea has spread across Bangladesh's south-west after a cyclone slammed into the south of the country and neighbouring India earlier in the week, officials said Sunday.
At least 237 people were killed after Cyclone Aila on Monday hit the low-lying coast north of the Bay of Bengal, where a military and civilian relief operation is now underway.
Doctors said diarrhoea had broken out at an "alarming rate" as inundation and waterlogging in a vast swathe of land close to the world's largest mangrove forest Sundarbans has destroyed supplies of drinking water.
In the worst affected Koyra, Dakope and Khulna districts at least two people have died and over 5000 people treated for diarrhoea, half in the last 24 hours, regional medical chief Lutfur Rahman Khan told AFP.
"The situation is alarming. So far we have more than 5000 people who are sick with diarrhoea in this region. Another 3000 have been treated for water borne diseases like dysentery," Khan said.
Khan said breached levees and washed away embankments enabled tidal seawater to inundate the region, destroying almost all sources of fresh drinking water.
"The crisis is worsening every day. People are leaving their villages for cities and towns," he said.
In neighbouring Satkhira district doctors have treated over 2000 cases of diarrhoea since the cyclone hit, again with half the cases reported in the last 24 hours, head of the district medical service Mohammad Ibadullah said.
The government said it has dispatched nearly 900 medical teams to tackle the crisis but charities and local officials warned any improvement would depend on how soon the authorities can rebuild the destroyed embankments.
The army had brought in fresh water supplies but not enough for the cyclone victims.
On Saturday Oxfam's Bangladesh operations chief Heather Blackwell called the situation "an emerging humanitarian crisis. And it's getting worse every day," adding more than one million people had been affected.
Some 167 people died in Bangladesh, where hundreds of thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed, while 70 people were killed in India as a result of the cyclone.
Of those killed in India's West Bengal state, 20 were killed in mudslides caused by rainfall a day after the storm hit.
The low-lying region frequently experiences tropical storms and cyclones during the monsoon season. In 2007, more than 3,500 people were killed, most of them in Bangladesh, when Cyclone Sidr lashed the same districts.