Health problems just starting in Pakistan after flood

 

  (Reuters) – As floodwaters recede in Pakistan, experts are warning the real problem — disease, food shortages and malnutrition — might just be starting.
There have been 38,000 reported cases of acute diarrhea and at least one confirmed cholera death, health experts wrote in The Lancet journal.
The U.N. has warned of other imminent waterborne diseases, including typhoid fever, shigellosis and hepatitis A and E, and vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue fever.
Aid agencies, like Save the Children, have already seen cases of pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria.
Below are key facts on some of these diseases:
CHOLERA
Cholera is an acute disease that causes watery diarrhea and severe dehydration and can kill within hours if left untreated. Up to 80 percent of cases can be successfully treated with oral rehydration salts. Safe water and sanitation are critical in reducing the impact of cholera and other waterborne diseases. Vaccination for cholera can also be considered.
TYPHOID FEVER
A bacterial disease caused by Salmonella typhi, it is transmitted by ingesting food or drink contaminated by the faeces or urine of infected people. Symptoms are high fever, malaise, headache, constipation or diarrhoea, rose-coloured spots on the chest, and enlarged spleen and liver. It can be treated with antibiotics but resistance to common antimicrobials is widespread. Healthy carriers must not handle food.
HEPATITIS A and E
The Hepatitis A and E viruses are shed in the faeces of infected people. They are contracted by ingesting faeces-contaminated food or water and spread under unsanitary conditions. There is no treatment and therapy can only be supportive and aimed at maintaining comfort and ensuring proper nutrition.
MALARIA AND DENGUE
These mosquito-borne diseases proliferate in floods because of a sudden increase in vector breeding sites. Early treatment is critical for malaria, which endangers particularly children and pregnant women because of their weaker immune systems. The best available treatment is artemisinin-based combination therapy. Unlike malaria, there is no treatment for dengue, so early diagnosis and careful clinical management will be critical to save lives.
LEPTOSPIROSIS
The bacteria leptospira spp. is found in a variety of both wild and domestic animals, including rodents, insectivores, dogs, cattle, pigs and horses. Outbreaks occur due to crowding together of rodents and humans, and people become infected through direct contact with the urine of infected animals or by contact with a urine-contaminated environment, such as surface water, soil and plants. The bacteria gains entry through cuts and abrasions in the skin and through mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth. Cases may peak during the rainy season and even may reach epidemic proportions in case of flooding.
Source: World Health Organisation