Cholera: Disease of disaster
Friday, May 9, 2008 - 13:42
in Health & Medicine
In the days after Cyclone Nargis sent a wall of seawater through Burma's low-lying Irrawaddy Delta in May 2008, the threat of disease became a major concern for survivors. The United Nations estimated that at least 1.5 million people were "severely affected," needing food, shelter and clean drinking water. Clean drinking water is especially critical in the wake of a disaster of this magnitude. Without it, people begin to dehydrate within a few days. And with seawater and large numbers of decomposing bodies overwhelming water supplies, disease quickly becomes a threat.