Disease Spreading Among Rohingya at Refugee Camp

 

Unclean water, crowded shelters and dirty conditions create a perfect environment at the Balukhali refugee camp for spread of preventable diseases.

The camp is in Cox’s Bazaar¹, a town in southeastern Bangladesh. It is home to some of the estimated 650,000 Rohingya Muslims who fled unrest in neighboring Myanmar.

More than 200 mobile vaccination² teams have given about 900,000 doses of oral cholera³ vaccine⁴ to the refugees. However, another contagious⁵ bacterial⁶ infection, diphtheria, has appeared.

"Diphtheria is a vaccine preventable disease,” notes Kate Nolan. She works for the international aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders.

Nolan added that the appearance of diphtheria shows the Rohingya did not have good health care in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

The disease often causes the buildup of a sticky grey-white substance in the nose or throat. The infection makes breathing difficult and damages the heart and central nervous system. Without diphtheria medication, death is possible.

Navaratnasamy Paranietharan is the World Health Organization representative to Bangladesh. He says the refugees have low vaccination rates. He believes conditions in the camp could lead to the appearance of “infectious diseases like cholera, measles⁷, rubella and diphtheria.”

Health care in Myanmar is considered among the worst in the world, especially in areas where conflict and poverty have delayed medical development.

The Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar's northern Rakhine state after militants⁹ attacked security forces in late August. Myanmar’s military answered the attack with an operation that some observers have called ethnic¹⁰ cleansing¹¹.

Myanmar's government denies it is involved in ethnic cleansing. The government says a majority of the violence and burning of Rohingya villages was the work of Rohingya militants who attacked security forces.

“Just a small amount of the needs were being met, even before the attacks in August," noted¹² Chris Lewa, an expert on Rohingya.

Lewa is with the Arakan Project, a human rights organization that studies and documents the situation. She said that health care in Rakhine state was very bad before the violence.

According to Lewa, the Rohingya from northern Rakhine say Myanmar medical workers at government hospitals discriminate¹³ against them. And they said they face severe restrictions¹⁴ on movement when traveling to health care centers.

Lewa pointed¹⁵ to Myanmar's Maungdaw District, where the army carried out what it called "clearance¹⁶ operations" after deadly militant⁸ attacks last year.

Health centers set up by international non-governmental organizations in Maungdaw have been burned to the ground, Lewa said. She added that this will make it even more difficult for the Rohingya Muslims if and when they are allowed to return.”

Currently, international non-governmental organizations are not permitted to operate in the areas outside Maungdaw.

Doctors Without Borders has reacted to the spread of diphtheria in Bangladesh by building treatment centers at the Balukhali refugee camp.

Nolan said doctors are concerned about public health at the camp.

Now, those who have come in contact with the bacterium¹⁷ must get antibiotics¹⁹ and other drugs to prevent the further spread of the disease and kill it.

"We need to find all the suspected cases in the camps and get them all here to start the antibiotic¹⁸ treatment and keep them isolated²¹ for 48 hours," said doctor Thomas Hansen.

Because the disease spreads easily, medical workers must quarantine the sick and then visit the patient's family to know if they also have the disease.

Doctors Without Borders and its health partners are working together to find and quarantine suspected cases.

One of the biggest problems for health workers is getting to rural areas where the disease can spread.

With the arrival of the 650,000 refugees, new camp housing is being built well beyond the main roadways.

"They live in areas that are difficult to reach," said Dagne Hordvei, team leader with the Norwegian Red Cross.

"We have an agreement with [Doctors Without Borders] that we take the measles patients from them, and they take the diphtheria patients, with lots of activity going out to the communities to try to reduce the speed of the spreading of diphtheria."

As Bangladesh's Ministry²² of Health and Family Welfare launches a vaccination campaign to prevent diphtheria, it appears that at least some of the young Rohingya will have protection from preventable diseases.

As of December 21, Doctors Without Borders has observed more than 2,000 diphtheria cases in its health centers, and the number is rising. Most of the patients are between the ages of 5 and 14 years old.

More than 20 Rohingya in Bangladesh have died from the disease.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

dose - n. the amount of a medicine, drug, or vitamin that is taken at one time

contagious - adj. able to be passed from one person or animal to another by touching²³

ethnic cleansing - n. the practice of removing or killing²⁴ people who belong to an ethnic group that is different from the ruling group in a country or region

isolate²⁰ – v. to separate or set apart from others

quarantine - n. the period of time during which a person or animal that has a disease or that might have a disease is kept away from others to prevent the disease from spreading

1 bazaar   

n.集市，商店集中区

参考例句：

• Chickens,goats and rabbits were offered for barter at the bazaar.在集市上，鸡、山羊和兔子被摆出来作物物交换之用。
• We bargained for a beautiful rug in the bazaar.我们在集市通过讨价还价买到了一条很漂亮的地毯。

2 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

3 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

4 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

5 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

6 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

7 measles   

n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子

参考例句：

• The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
• The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。

8 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

9 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

10 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

11 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。

14 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

15 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

16 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。

17 bacterium   

n.(pl.)bacteria 细菌

参考例句：

• The bacterium possibly goes in the human body by the mouth.细菌可能通过口进入人体。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

18 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

19 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

20 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

21 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

22 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

23 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

24 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。