A Turkish doctor who provides support in Kahramanmaras told Lusa news agency that cases of scabies, diarrhea and fever are starting to appear due to the lack of hygiene and health conditions of those who survived the earthquake.
“There is a lack of hygiene and elementary conditions for health. No diapers, no sanitary pads, no toilet paper, no bathrooms,” said doctor Abdullah Al-Bayrak of Dünya Doktorlari (Doctors of the World), a non-governmental organization that supports a doctor in Kahramanmaras.
Cases of diarrhea, scabies and fever are starting to appear among earthquake survivors due to lack of hygiene and sanitation, a doctor said.
Although we have not yet encountered an epidemic situation, he noted that it is easy to “get infected” in the current conditions, when people gather together, next to the rubble, and sleep in small tents.
Akin Hacioglu, the coordinator of the group on site, said that the initial task of the institution, which has been on site since day one, was to provide assistance to the wounded.
At the moment, the focus is on providing medical support for children and young people, as well as providing medicines for people with chronic diseases.
Akin also stressed that the cold could also have consequences for the lives of survivors, especially children, in the city of a million people located at the foot of Mount Ahir, where temperatures can drop below freezing at night.
The organization responds in a complex set up in the local football club’s stadium, which has become a sea of tents where hundreds of survivors sleep every day.
Inside, the Lusa agency found a long line of residents about to list their needs in front of the government.
Gas, food, clothing, medicines or medical assistance are offered at this stadium, where the tents of AFAD, a Turkish government structure set up to respond to natural disasters, are visible.
The military personnel control the entrance to this strong point, not allowing a single foreigner to enter.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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