AlaskaDenise
In Memoriam
OTSUCHICHO, Iwate--"If the situation remains unchanged, the spread of infectious diseases is just a matter of time," according to a doctor who specializes in disease control.
Shigeru Sakurai, chief of Iwate Medical University's infectious disease countermeasures section, visited Otsuchicho, Iwate Prefecture--a town hit hard by the March 11 tsunami that followed the massive earthquake--on Thursday to conduct a fact-finding survey on infectious diseases.
The university's disaster medical team visited four evacuation centers in the town's Akahama and Ando districts to examine occupants.
According to Sakurai, about 100 to 200 evacuees have been staying in shelters at shrines and primary schools.
The shelters they visited are short on supplies and evacuees have not had a warm meal since the disaster. There are also those with chronic health problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes who have not been able to take medication, Sakurai said.
A long line formed as evacuees waited to see the team of doctors.
Amid such difficulties, evacuees have taken the initiative to improvise their sanitary facilities. They covered a soccer goal net with a blue tarp, dug a hole in the ground and used it as a latrine, while also using a fish-washing device as a faucet to wash dishes.
"Because of the proactive efforts of the evacuees, I didn't observe as much infectious disease as I expected, but the real test is still to come," Sakurai said.
Read more at: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110320002398.htm
.
Shigeru Sakurai, chief of Iwate Medical University's infectious disease countermeasures section, visited Otsuchicho, Iwate Prefecture--a town hit hard by the March 11 tsunami that followed the massive earthquake--on Thursday to conduct a fact-finding survey on infectious diseases.
The university's disaster medical team visited four evacuation centers in the town's Akahama and Ando districts to examine occupants.
According to Sakurai, about 100 to 200 evacuees have been staying in shelters at shrines and primary schools.
The shelters they visited are short on supplies and evacuees have not had a warm meal since the disaster. There are also those with chronic health problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes who have not been able to take medication, Sakurai said.
A long line formed as evacuees waited to see the team of doctors.
Amid such difficulties, evacuees have taken the initiative to improvise their sanitary facilities. They covered a soccer goal net with a blue tarp, dug a hole in the ground and used it as a latrine, while also using a fish-washing device as a faucet to wash dishes.
"Because of the proactive efforts of the evacuees, I didn't observe as much infectious disease as I expected, but the real test is still to come," Sakurai said.
Read more at: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110320002398.htm
.