Something I've heard again and again from UNICEF staff who have spent a lot of time in the field: the truly tough work of emergency response often begins weeks and even months after the immediate emergency is over. This is partly because media attention has dwindled and the donations aren't coming in the way they once were. (Less money means stretched resources.) It's also the case because diseases such as cholera, malaria and dengue fever can get a nasty foothold amongst people who, in the wake of a disaster, find themselves without homes, proper sanitation, adequate nutrition or clean, safe drinking water.
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| © UNICEF/HQ08-0323/Adam Dean |
| MYANMAR: A small boy washes his hair with soap in the cyclone-affected township of Kunyangon in the southern Yangon Division. |
These days, UNICEF is working harder than ever in Myanmar. Recently, we've been worried about possible outbreaks of dengue fever there. When Cyclone Nargis blasted across the Irrawaddy Delta in early May, it left behind the sort of destruction that makes an attractive breeding ground for the dengue-carrying Aedes mosquito. Stagnant pools of water that collect in debris—scattered pots and pans, tires, bottles, ruined boats, plastic tarps—are like five-star hotels for these mosquitoes.
Dengue fever is a miserable disease. My cousin was unlucky enough to get it when he lived in Thailand. It leaves you with a fever, severe headache, muscle and joint pain, a rash and, in some cases (my cousin's being one of them) hair loss. The extreme version of the disease, dengue hemorrhagic fever, can be fatal. Dengue hits children and the elderly especially hard. There is no vaccine. And bed nets don't help because, unlike malaria mosquitoes which feed at night, dengue mosquitoes prefer to take their meals in the daytime.
So far, effective interventions have prevented an increase in dengue fever in the Irrawaddy Delta. But the risk is still great enough that UNICEF and the World Health Organization, in cooperation with the Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare Association and the Myanmar Red Cross, have launched a $700,000 anti-dengue-fever campaign in 11 cyclone-hit townships. The campaign will include targeted fumigation, the use of human-safe insecticide in drinking water and community initiatives to reduce mosquito breeding spots.
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| © UNICEF/HQ08-0352/Adam Dean |
| MYANMAR: Men work to rebuild a cyclone-damaged home in the village of Yangon Pauk in the south-western Irrawaddy Division. |
Meanwhile in Myanmar, we're continuing to rebuild schools, to provision teachers and students with supplies, to vaccinate against diseases like measles and tetanus (hopefully someday there will be a dengue vaccine), build wells and latrines, train health care workers, distribute much-needed therapeutic food to malnourished children… I can't list everything—this post would never end. Let's just say that the hard work is far from over.
Comments (2)
Thank you for raising this very important issue. In June, Global Health Progress Executive Director Dr. Paul Antony and Direct Relief International President and CEO Thomas Tighe also warned the public of a possible second disaster in Myanmar, relating to the spread of disease and the impact on public health. Research-based biopharmaceutical companies understand that the stakes are very high in Myanmar, especially as concern possible outbreaks of dengue fever.
Certain research-based biopharmaceutical companies have in fact committed themselves to finding cures to and vaccines for this devastating disease. In 2006, sanofi pasteur and the Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative, also supported by GlaxoSmithKline, announced their partnership to develop a dengue vaccine and make it available for global prevention. Novartis’ Dengue Unit is a research program staffed by 24 scientists currently working to find medicines that reduce the viral load so that morbidity and mortality associated with dengue will be lowered, thereby lowering the rate of transmission of the virus.
Posted by Jessica | September 24, 2008 6:54 PM
Posted on September 24, 2008 18:54
Adequate and safe drinking water is the only thing that can prevent such kinda dangerous diseases. Not only government, each individual should make sure that the above requirement is satisfied.
Posted by Chicago mover | July 26, 2010 1:39 AM
Posted on July 26, 2010 01:39