The number of people dying
from disease following the Indian Ocean tsunami could
exceed those killed in the disaster itself, a health expert
warns. Dr David Nabarro of the World Health Organisation
said it was vital to get relief supplies to stricken areas
to prevent a health catastrophe.
"There is certainly a chance we could
have as many dying from communicable diseases as from
the tsunami," he said.
Aid workers say providing
clean water is their first priority. It
is feared diseases like malaria, dengue fever and cholera
could easily spread in unsanitary conditions.
In India, scores of camps have been set up
in affected areas. The aid agency Unicef said some cases
of disease had already emerged.
"Getting clean water to people
in the camps is critical at this point to head off the
spread of disease," it said in a statement. "We
are closely monitoring the hygiene conditions... Some
diarrhoeal cases have already been reported, so providing
oral rehydration solution is critical," it said.
Dead bodies
Hospitals in the region are urging people to boil water
before drinking it.
But people are still using water from local wells, despite
the contamination fears.
"Nobody told us not to drink
this water. Nobody has told us to boil the water,"
said Siddiqa, a mother of four, in the Nagapattinam region.
Municipal authorities across the stricken region have been
burying dead bodies even before they have been identified,
fearing they will spread disease.
In Indonesia, the BBC's Rachel Harvey says human remains
are being piled up under plastic sheeting prior to mass
burial. But Dr Alessandro Loretti of the World Health
Organization said this could end up being a waste of resources,
and that far greater priority should be given to the provision
of clean water and the management of human waste. "It
will be living people who pollute the water," he
told the BBC.
Distribution problem
He said the WHO was sending enough water purification
supplies and drugs for tens of thousands of people in
Indonesia, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.
But he said even more urgent was the need to find out
what was happening in parts of Indonesia and the Maldives
yet to be reached.
Agencies say getting emergency supplies to the stricken
areas in time to prevent disease will be very hard.
"It is going to be a huge problem getting relief
even out of the airport" in Aceh, Indonesia, said
Michael Enquist, the head of the United Nations Organisation
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
"There is no petrol, no food, no
water and no vehicles available," he told
