Above is an a picture from the article of corpses being dragged into a mass grave.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/15/world/asia/tacloban-philippines-typhoon-haiyan.html
The battle is over but the war
continues. A horrible typhoon destroyed the Philippines only months ago.
The initial storm killed thousands but the death toll continues to rise
as disease breaks out among the destroyed cities.
This article "Ravaged by
Typhoon, Philippines Faces Threat of Serious Diseases" was published
online in The New York Times this past November. It talks about the tragedy the country has faced and the
death that still lies ahead.
Though the storm was devastating at first it also killed for months later
and continues to kill. “The lack of both fresh water
and solid-waste disposal systems had created a potent incubator for fecal
contaminants,” because of this the Philippines is facing major outbreaks of disease. There have been many cases of cholera,
hepatitis, malaria, dengue fever, typhoid fever, and bacterial dysentery. There are also worries that there could
be a return of polio, which the Philippines has been free of for nearly 14
years.
When we studied cholera in class
we learned that it was spread by ingesting fecal bacteria from an infected
person. Because of this cholera
and many other bacterial disease are spread easily when drinking water is
exposed to human waste. The most
devastating aspect of this story is that the citizens may very well know that their
drinking water is contaminated however they have little to no other choice for drinking water. It is also very
unfortunate that many diarrheal diseases can be easily cured with fluids and
electrolytes.
A simple solution to limiting the spread of disease would be to implement a solid waste removal system. Unfortunately it is not that easy. These piping systems cost a lot of money and so does transporting
thousands of gallons of fresh water to the Philippines. However recently I heard about
LifeStraws. They are straws that can
filter out almost all pathogens to provide a family with thousands of liters of
clean water in its lifetime. Below
I have attached a link to an article about LifeStraws from September of 2011.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/health/27straw.html
I like how you mentioned Lifestraws at the end of your article. It definitely adds a ray of hope to an otherwise desolate situation. I also have heard about them and I believe they are a perfectly viable solution to providing water to people in situations like these while infrastructure is built, although I do not know how much they cost...
ReplyDeleteThe title and picture immediately drew me in. The photograph of what looks like children dragging body bags is awful. It just goes to show how much a natural disaster can take affect on disease. A very interesting but sad topic, good job!
ReplyDeleteYou chose a very interesting topic! I had no idea that the death rate was still on the rise in the Philippines because of disease. As both you and Jessica said, it is terribly tragic situation that country has been placed in. It is also devastating that even with today's technology and knowledge about cholera, we still have a hard time stopping it from spreading. Hopefully the life straw can make it's way over to a country that's in desperate need of it... nice job!!
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