Conditions ripe for disease in Myanmar's devastated regions
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Myint Hlaing's family bathes and cooks with water from an irrigation ditch fouled by human waste and a rotting cow carcass. His 10-year-old daughter drinks bottled water donated by aid groups, but she still suffers from diarrhea.
Meanwhile, his family and other cyclone survivors endure daily rains in tattered thatch huts as the monsoon season nears.
Myanmar's junta insists health conditions are normal in Myanmar's devastated Irawaddy delta. But in many areas of the delta, they are a recipe for disease.
"Shelter is the most important thing we need," Myint Hlaing said.
"There are more and more mosquitoes here. We are afraid of getting dengue fever."he added.
Relief group Church World Service has reported finding elderly and child survivours of the cyclone dying from dysentery in some areas because many have no choice but to drink dirty water.
Other groups have detected a number of ailments including pneumonia, malaria, cholera and diarrhea.'Save the Children', UK, has warned that some 30,000 children in the delta were severely malnourished before Cyclone Nargis struck, with thousands facing starvation in the next two or three weeks.
The monsoon season, which begins next month, adds yet another challenge."The rain is a real problem," Eric Stover, lead author of a critical report published last year about Myanmar's broken health system, after visiting the delta.
"The water is rising up, and the latrines are just outside (flowing) into the water, and there's livestock around. That's the perfect breeding ground for diarrhea and
cholera" Eric added.
Meanwhile, his family and other cyclone survivors endure daily rains in tattered thatch huts as the monsoon season nears.
Myanmar's junta insists health conditions are normal in Myanmar's devastated Irawaddy delta. But in many areas of the delta, they are a recipe for disease.
"Shelter is the most important thing we need," Myint Hlaing said.
"There are more and more mosquitoes here. We are afraid of getting dengue fever."he added.
Relief group Church World Service has reported finding elderly and child survivours of the cyclone dying from dysentery in some areas because many have no choice but to drink dirty water.
Other groups have detected a number of ailments including pneumonia, malaria, cholera and diarrhea.'Save the Children', UK, has warned that some 30,000 children in the delta were severely malnourished before Cyclone Nargis struck, with thousands facing starvation in the next two or three weeks.
The monsoon season, which begins next month, adds yet another challenge."The rain is a real problem," Eric Stover, lead author of a critical report published last year about Myanmar's broken health system, after visiting the delta.
"The water is rising up, and the latrines are just outside (flowing) into the water, and there's livestock around. That's the perfect breeding ground for diarrhea and
cholera" Eric added.
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