The floodwaters in many areas of Jammu and Kashmir have left a trail of mud, destruction and damaged lives, but while communities tackle the tough business of recovery, another danger is emerging – one that is not from rivers overflowing their banks, but from contaminated water and broken infrastructure.
Health officials in affected districts are observing some relatively mild, but nonetheless noteworthy, increase in cases of diarrhoea, fever, typhoid and skin infections. This observation is no coincidence; it is a predictable and serious consequence of the floods, and warrants a prompt, strong and coordinated health service response.
It is well-known that flooding events are linked to disease outbreaks. Floods act to overwhelm sewage treatment systems, distribute solid waste and submerge latrines. Water borne diseases such as typhoid fever, hepatitis A, and acute gastroenteritis spread easily in floods.
Flooding creates stagnant areas of water where mosquitoes can breed more easily, which could result in an increased risk of vector borne diseases including dengue. Further, direct contact with polluted water can lead to painful skin infections and rashes, adding to the hardship inflicted on those already displaced by the floods.
The urgent needs of rescue and shelter now must transition to a highly coordinated public health campaign. The effort must be multi-faceted.
The government, alongside central agencies and NGOs, must urgently restore clean drinking water supply for both, natural water caught in floods, where pipelines are damaged, must be the establishment of emergency water purification plants, and the systematic distribution of water purification tablets must massively ramped up.
Continuous public messaging regarding boiling water prior to consuming needs to be continuously pushed out via all every possible channel including social media.
The health department must establish medical camps in the affected areas with plenty of Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS), antibiotics, and general medicines to treat the illnesses expected to occur.
The continual flooding will only worsen due to climate change, and has put a serious strain on our public health system. Replacement of systems, building resilient water and sewage systems, strengthening disease monitoring systems, and creating robust community-level disaster preparedness systems includes public health must now be a priority not an option.
