Diseases Flow With Pakistan Floods

An article from The Cornell Daily Sun :

" It is estimated that over one-fifth of Pakistan went under water during the July 2010 floods. While the floods left only an estimated 1500 dead, they left over 21 million individuals without homes, as a result of what United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called, “slow moving tsunami”.

The destruction of essential infrastructure created a dangerous atmosphere, where survivors now face potentially epidemic diseases. UNICEF estimates that over 3.5 million children run the risk of contracting a waterborne disease as an aftermath of the flood.

“In general, you have more people crowded, and more people in bad situations. You’re going to have more diarrhea and more repertory track diseases,” said Dorothy Debbie, microbiology and immunology.

“It depends on where you have a flood. In this area the biggest concern … the top one you think of is cholera because cholera is already [an] epidemic in the area,” said Debbie. Cholera was not a concern, for example, after the Haitian earthquake.

“Kids especially would be an issue, and severe cholera is a life threatening disease.” Adults in Pakistan have likely already been exposed, and therefore, they likely have built greater immunity to cholera than children.

The list of bacterial disease continues, with Debbie highlighting diarrheal diseases as another major concern. Dehydration and loss of electrolytes can lead to death. Typhoid, which is also found in South Asia, is also a concern."