Cholera outbreak in Laputta relief centre

Maung Dee
Mizzima News

In the aftermath of the Cyclone Nargis in Burma, there is apprehension of the health situation of people deteriorating severely. There are at least 10 cholera patients in each relief centre in Laputta, it is learnt.

Lack of potable water and crowded relief centres will exacerbate the current situation in all 32 relief centres in Laputta Town.

"There is an outbreak of cholera. It is taking an epidemic form as over 2,000 victims have to share limited toilets in the relief centres. This situation will worsen," a doctor from Laputta providing medical attention to storm victims said.

There are over 80,000 survivors in Laputta which is close to the sea and almost half the area was devastated in the storm. The survivors had to take shelter in 32 relief centers opened in pagodas, monasteries, schools, and mosques with 2000 to 3,000 survivors taking shelter in each relief camp.

"We have to eat gruel everyday, sleep on uncovered cold concrete floors with open roofs which were ripped apart and swept away in the storm. When it rains, we have to sit on the floor and cannot sleep," the doctor added.

The doctors in Laputta pooled in their resources and formed the 'Voluntary Doctors Association' to provide medical care to the storm victims in the town. They distributed re-hydration packets, and in a free medical clinic are conducting prevention of cholera outbreak.

Though a NLD party worker said that four had died of cholera, Mizzima could not verify this news from independent sources.

Local residents are complaining that about 80,000 survivors haven't yet received any relief supplies from the local authority except receiving cash, drinking water, medicine, rice and cooking oil donated by Burmese in Singapore.

The local authority kept all the relief supplies at the relief operation warehouse, without distributing it to the survivors. They also they seized all the supplies donated by well-wishers. The material included rice, cooking oil, salt, instant noodles and drinking water. So over 10 trucks carrying these supplies stopped in the outskirts of the town to wait and see the attitude of the authorities, a doctor from Laputta said.

The Burmese Medical Professionals Association formed by Burmese doctors in exile in a statement appealed to the junta to let in international aid workers and use their expertise along with the relief supplies since the SPDC is not in a position to provide efficient and speedy relief operation to storm victims.

"It is not a good thing not to allow international aid workers and distributing the relief supplies to the storm victims by themselves. They are not in position to handle a disaster of this scale. They must accept trained and experienced aid workers and the facilities to handle such a disaster in this scale as they have none of these facilities," Dr. Raymond Tint Way from Australia said.

Distributing only a blanket, a tin of rice (about 1.5 Kg) cannot alleviate the sufferings and sorrows of the orphans, widows who lost entire families in the devastating storm. The state-run media should stop the propaganda footages of distribution of meal packets to the storm victims by the PM and should start effective relief operation immediately, he added.

"The people are dying and suffering from de-hydration as time. They have no food, are dying of diarrhea, typhoid and malaria. It is very difficult to tackle such a big disaster. The junta needs international assistance so we humbly appeal to the government to allow these international aid workers in and use their expertise as soon as possible," Dr. Raymond Tint Way further said.

The Burmese Medical Professionals Association appealed to the UN and the international community to conduct humanitarian intervention by ignoring the restrictions imposed by the junta to save hapless storm victims who are dying in Burma day by day.