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Unable to find clean water, a Sidr victim washes utensils with filthy water of a pond in Sharonkhola of Bagerhat yesterday Photo: Anisur Rahman
Outbreak of different diseases like diarrhoea, pneumonia, fever and typhoid is spreading in Patuakhali in the aftermath of devastating cyclone Sidr.
A US army medical team, meanwhile, started its operation at Patuakhali General Hospital yesterday. Bangladeshi Army medical team and Japan-Bangladesh Friendship Hospital have also started their operations.
Locals and district administration sources said diarrhoea and cold related diseases are spreading in the affected areas, especially in shoal areas in seven upazilas.
Three people in Kalapara upazila died of diarrhoea on November 23. Tania, a two-and-a-half-month old infant died of pneumonia the previous day at Lalua village in Kalapara, the upazila health complex reported.
Diarrhoea is spreading as local people are drinking water from the rivers and canals polluted with rotten carcasses of domestic animals. Tube-well water or safe drinking water is not yet available in the shoal areas.
As many as 1,475 out of about 18,000 tube-wells are functioning after the cyclone hit the district, Department of Public Health and Engineering (DPHE) sources said.
Moreover, the government allocation for deep tube-well installation has also stopped in the district, the sources added.
Comparing the huge number of patients, their turnout at different local hospitals is poor as road communication is still in a very bad shape. Most roads have been torn up in Sidr and internal communication has also collapsed.
Patuakhali civil surgeon’s office has formed 98 medical teams in seven upazilas to provide health services. The teams are distributing ORS and others medicines like water purification tablets among the cyclone victims to protect themselves from the diseases, Civil Surgeon Humayun Kabir told The Daily Star.
An 18-member US military team began its service yesterday at 250-bed Patuakhali General Hospital. The team includes two medicine, two children’s, one eye, one veterinary, one dental consultants and one paramedic.
The team is providing service only to outdoor patients in the hospital and about 200 patients from remote areas received treatment on the first day.
During a visit to the hospital at 4:00pm yesterday, over 50 patients were found waiting for treatment by the US medical team.
All upazila health complexes have been asked to despatch patients to the American medical team at the district headquarters, a Bangladesh Army officer who is coordinating the service told The Daily Star.
A 10-member Bangladesh Army mobile medical team is also working in the shoals areas to check outbreak of diarrhoea and others diseases.
Team leader Captain Foez said, “We’re providing health service to on average over 200 patients a day.”
“Diarrhoea and cold related diseases are most common here found here but not in an epidemic form. We’re giving everyone water purification tablets as drinking water crisis persists in the shoals area,” he added.
Japan-Bangladesh Friendship Hospital also started working on Sunday at Mirzaganj upazila.
Md Nur Alam of the hospital said they are providing health services to the cyclone victims.
About 1,500 patients took medical services from the team on Monday at Ranipur village in Mirzaganj. The team has also distributed relief goods among the cyclone victims.
Tree Das Homes, a floating hospital, is also working in the shoals areas in the district.
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