H5N1

Tonga: Volcanic eruption and tsunami

Via ReliefWeb, a UNICEF news release: Tonga: Volcanic Eruption and Tsunami - Jan 2022. Several others are available on the website. Excerpt:

After weeks of volcanic activity emitting ash, the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai underwater volcano in Tonga erupted violently on 15 January. The eruption is said to be one of the biggest in Tonga in the last 30 years, with satellite imagery indicating a 5 km wide plume of ash, steam, and gas, rising approximately 20 km above the volcano. 

The volcanic eruption generated a 1.2-metre tsunami that crashed ashore in coastal areas of Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa. The estimated population within 100 km of the volcano is 76,000 people. [...]  

Tonga has been blanketed by 1-2 cm of volcanic ash, affecting the majority of the country and impacting on water and food supplies. Air quality is also of concern. Power has been disrupted, and communications with Tonga are a challenge as regular phone lines are down, the internet cable from Fiji to Tonga seems to have been damaged, and satellite phones are only working intermittently.  

Alert level 4 remains active for the volcano, meaning that eruption hazards are confined to areas near or around the volcano. 

Once the breadbasket of Africa, Zimbabwe now on brink of man-made starvation, UN rights expert warns

Via the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, a warning about a story far graver than Ebola: Once the breadbasket of Africa, Zimbabwe now on brink of man-made starvation, UN rights expert warns. Excerpt and then another link:

GENEVA / HARARE (28 November 2019) - Despite the constitutional protection of the right to food and a sophisticated set of human-rights based national laws and policies, man-made starvation is slowly making its way in Zimbabwe, said the UN expert of the right to food after visiting the country from 18 to 28 November 2019.  

"More than 60% of the population of a country once seen as the breadbasket of Africa is now considered food-insecure, with most households unable to obtain enough food to meet basic needs due to hyperinflation," said Hilal Elver, Special Rapporteur on the right to food, presenting a preliminary statement at the end of an 11-day visit. 

"In rural areas, a staggering 5.5 million people are currently facing food insecurity, as poor rains and erratic weather patterns are impacting harvests and livelihoods. In urban areas, an estimated 2.2 million people are food-insecure and lack access to minimum public services, including health and safe water.  

"These are shocking figures and the crisis continues to worsen due to poverty and high unemployment, widespread corruption, severe price instabilities, lack of purchasing power, poor agricultural productivity, natural disasters, recurrent droughts and unilateral economic sanctions." 

Elver said women and children were bearing the brunt of the crisis. 

"The majority of the children I met were stunted and underweight," she said. "Child deaths from severe malnutrition have been rising in the past few months. 90 % of Zimbabwean children aged six months to two years are not consuming the minimum acceptable diet.  

"I saw the ravaging effects of malnutrition on infants deprived of breast feeding because of their own mothers' lack of access to adequate food. 

"In a desperate effort to find alternative means of livelihood, some women and children are resorting to coping mechanisms that violate their most fundamental human rights and freedoms. As a result, school drop-outs, early marriage, domestic violence, prostitution and sexual exploitation are on the rise throughout Zimbabwe."  

Elver said people she met in the drought-affected areas of Masvingo and Mwenezi, located in the driest regions of the country, told her they ate only one portion of cooked maize a day. Women, the elderly and children are barely able to meet their minimum food needs and are largely dependent on food assistance, while most of the men are abroad seeking work, she added. 

"Without access to a diversified and nutritious diet, rural Zimbabweans, particularly younger children, barely survive," she said, adding that the agricultural and food system needs immediate reform.  

"I strongly urge the Government to take the necessary measures to reduce the country's dependence on imported food, particularly maize, and to support alternative wheats to diversify the diet. The Government should create the conditions for the production of traditional seeds to ensure the country's self-sufficiency and preparedness for the climate shocks that hit the country." 

The Special Rapporteur said the crisis in Zimbabwe's cities was no less severe than in rural areas.

"I witnessed some of the devastating consequences of the acute economic crisis in the streets of Harare, with people waiting for hours on long lines in front of gas stations, banks, and water dispensaries," she said. 

"The Zimbabweans I spoke to in Harare and its suburbs explained that even if food was widely available in markets, the erosion of their incomes combined with an inflation skyrocketing to over 490%, made them suffer from food insecurity, also impacting the middle-class. 

Elver also said that she received "disturbing" information that public hospitals have been reaching out to humanitarian organizations after their own medicine and food stocks were exhausted.  

Elver also received indication that the distribution of lands or food had been manipulated for political ends throughout the last two decades, favoring those who support the ruling political party. 

"I call on the Government of Zimbabwe to live up to its zero hunger commitment without any discrimination," Elver said.

Meanwhile, The Zimbabwean reports striking doctors say poor conditions in hospitals are causing a "silent genocide":

The senior doctors described the situation at the country’s hospitals as a silent genocide, saying doctors are forced to work without basics such as bandages, gloves, and syringes.

“We have watched the past few months as the situation in our hospitals continues to deteriorate.

“In March this year, the situation in hospitals deteriorated to the point where there were no bandages, gloves, and syringes available forcing senior doctors to highlight the dire situation publicly. It is important to find out why this has taken so long to be resolved as a silent genocide continues to be perpetrated upon the people of Zimbabwe,” the statement said.

US: Flint’s children suffer in class after years of drinking the lead-poisoned water

Via The New York Times: Flint’s Children Suffer in Class After Years of Drinking the Lead-Poisoned Water. We are just beginning to face similar problems in Canada. Excerpt:

FLINT, Mich. — Nakiya Wakes could not understand how her wiry, toothy-grinned 6-year-old had gone from hyperactive one school year to what teachers described as hysterical the next. Then, in 2015, the state of Michigan delivered a diagnosis of sorts: Ms. Wakes’s neighborhood’s water — which her son, Jaylon, had been drinking and bathing in for more than a year — was saturated with lead, at some of the highest levels in the city. 

Jaylon would cycle through two schools, receive 30 suspensions and rack up 70 unexcused absences. In one of Ms. Wakes’s clashes with Flint Community Schools, she delivered administrators a warning: “You can’t keep suspending him because soon, you’re going to have to suspend the whole school system.” 

Five years after Michigan switched Flint’s water supply to the contaminated Flint River from Lake Huron, the city’s lead crisis has migrated from its homes to its schools, where neurological and behavioral problems — real or feared — among students are threatening to overwhelm the education system.  

The contamination of this long-struggling city’s water exposed nearly 30,000 schoolchildren to a neurotoxin known to have detrimental effects on children’s developing brains and nervous systems. Requests for special education or behavioral interventions began rising four years ago, when the water contamination became public, bolstering a class-action lawsuit that demanded more resources for Flint’s children. Sign Up for On Politics With Lisa Lerer A spotlight on the people reshaping our politics. A conversation with voters across the country. And a guiding hand through the endless news cycle, telling you what you really need to know.

That lawsuit forced the state to establish the $3 million Neurodevelopmental Center of Excellence, which began screening students. The screenings then confirmed a range of disabilities, which have prompted still more requests for intervention. 

The percentage of the city’s students who qualify for special education services has nearly doubled, to 28 percent, from 15 percent the year the lead crisis began, and the city’s screening center has received more than 1,300 referrals since December 2018. The results: About 70 percent of the students evaluated have required school accommodations for issues like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, also known as A.D.H.D.; dyslexia; or mild intellectual impairment, said Katherine Burrell, the associate director of the center.  

“We have a school district where all that’s left are damaged kids who are being exposed to other damaged kids, and it’s causing more damage,” said Stephanie Pascal, who has taught in Flint for 23 years.

Critical WHO supplies arrive in Sudan to manage cholera outbreak

WHO EMRO has published Critical WHO supplies arrive in Sudan to manage cholera outbreak.

25 September, 2019 – A shipment of 36 tons of cholera treatment medicines and supplies have arrived in Khartoum and are being prepared for distribution as part of the World Health Organization’s response activities supporting the Federal Ministry of Health in Sudan to contain and halt a cholera outbreak.  

The shipment includes 5000 rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for immediate detection and screening of cholera patients at health facilities and high-risk areas. RDTs are an essential part of early detection and response activities as their use ensures timely management and reporting of cholera cases.  

The shipment also contains medicines that can treat 2500 severely dehydrated patients, and which will be distributed to cholera treatment centres in Blue Nile and Sinnar states, where cases have been confirmed, as well as in the neighbouring at-risk states of White Nile, Kassala, Gedaref and Khartoum.  

“Even with the rapid depletion of our resources, we are accelerating our coordinated response, including delivering more medicines and supplies,” said Dr Naeema Al Gasseer, WHO Representative in Sudan. “We are working around the clock with the Federal Ministry of Health, state authorities and partners to control the outbreak and prevent more deaths.”  

As of 24 September, a total of 184 cholera cases have been reported, including 128 cases from Blue Nile State and 56 cases in Sinnar state. Eight cholera-related deaths have been recorded by the Federal Ministry of Health, including 6 in Blue Nile State and 2 in Sinnar State.  

Open defecation, lack of clean water outside the capital city and a dilapidated health sector are serious threats in a country of about 40 million people. Cholera, a bacterial disease usually contracted from contaminated water supplies, can be fatal if not treated early. 

As part of an overall integrated cholera response plan, WHO is working with the Ministry, state-level health ministries, United Nations agencies and nongovernmental organizations on surveillance of cases to monitor and control spread of the disease; maintain clean water, sanitation and nutrition; and raise awareness among at-risk communities. 

To date, WHO has deployed international experts to support the ongoing response activities and has trained and deployed 9 rapid response teams, each consisting of at least 3 members, for assessment and surveillance of high-risk areas. 18 health volunteers have also been trained and deployed to conduct water quality assessments in the 2 affected States. 

WHO is also actively disseminating awareness messages on health and sanitation through focus group discussions with community leaders, especially women, and training workshops are ongoing for volunteers on conducting house-to-house and community visits to deliver relevant health messages.

South Kivu: Water shortage at Kalehe hospital

Via 7sur7.cd: South Kivu / Water shortage at Kalehe hospital: MPs urge government to find a solution. The Google translation:

Fearing the outbreak of epidemics due to lack of water in Kalehe hospital (South Kivu), the rapporteur of the Provincial Assembly, Jacques Kamanda challenges the government and invites it to find a solution. 

Jacques Kamanda said that the absence of water is increasingly exposing the health of the population and especially the patients interned in health centers and particularly at the Kalehe Reference General Hospital. 

"It's hard to imagine having a hospital without water, it's putting the lives of the patients at risk, and we call on the authorities to implement their campaign promises so that the people of Kalehe will also find themselves in their right of access. water," he said. 

It is worth remembering that this water shortage has hit the Kalehe territory and especially the Kalehe / Ihusi general hospital for more than six months now.

PAHO issues $3.5 million donor appeal for humanitarian health response in the Bahamas

A news release from PAHO: PAHO issues $3.5 million donor appeal for humanitarian health response in the Bahamas. Once again, the first response to a public health disaster is to beg for money:

Nassau, Bahamas, Sept. 8, 2019 (PAHO)—The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is requesting an initial US $3.5 million from donors to cover short-term health care and other needs for the population in the Bahamas affected by Hurricane Dorian.

The devastating category 5 storm made landfall exactly one week ago in northwest Bahamas, and severely affected the health sector, with significant destruction of equipment and medical supplies and electrical and water supplies in Abaco and Grand Bahama. Some 73,000 persons were affected by the storm, and there are hundreds of people in shelters in the disaster zone. While 43 deaths have been officially reported thus far, mass casualty numbers are expected to rise significantly as more areas become accessible and search and rescue operations continue.   

Dr. Ciro Ugarte, PAHO’s Director of Health Emergencies, said, “Our priority concerns are to restore access to essential health services and continued medical care delivery, to ensure water quality in affected communities and health facilities, and to restore proper hygiene and sanitation.” He said adequate waste management and control of disease-causing vectors such as mosquitoes is key, along with increasing epidemiological surveillance to support early detection and timely management of disease outbreaks. 

The $3.5 million being requested by PAHO is a preliminary estimate to cover short- term healthcare, water and sanitation, epidemiological surveillance and vector-control needs in the Bahamian Islands most affected by Hurricane Dorian for the next six months, Dr. Ugarte said, adding that needs will likely increase as damage assessments are completed. 

PAHO/WHO activated its emergency teams for surge capacity and had pre-deployed Rapid Response Team experts to the Bahamas before Hurricane Dorian struck to support health authorities and humanitarian response as needs were identified. So far, 14 PAHO experts are in the disaster zone to provide surge capacity in logistics, civil and military coordination, information management, epidemiological surveillance, communications, and coordination.

Dr. Ugarte said PAHO is acting quickly to support the Bahamas Ministry of Health in the response, setting up an Incident Management system and co-leading the health cluster with the national health authorities to coordinate health and humanitarian support to the affected population.

The funding requests includes $1.3 million to restore healthcare delivery in affected areas, $500,000 for surveillance to detect and manage disease outbreaks, $800,000 for safe access to water, emergency sanitation and control of disease vectors, and well as $671,000 to coordinate humanitarian assistance and manage information to address the most urgent humanitarian needs.

Bahamas: Hurricane Dorian - Flash Update No. 1 (as of 02 September 2019)

Via ReliefWeb, OCHA has published Bahamas: Hurricane Dorian - Flash Update No. 1 (as of 02 September 2019). Click or tap through to download the full report as a PDF. The main points:

• Hurricane Dorian made landfall over northwest Bahamas on 1 September as the strongest hurricane in Bahamas’ history.  

• Dorian is currently moving westward over Grand Bahama at approximately 1 mph, practically stalling over the island and delaying the deployment of assessment teams on standby in Nassau. 

• The Prime Minister of the Bahamas has reported that five individuals have been confirmed killed as a result of Hurricane Dorian.

• Pre-impact projections based on available data suggest urgent needs in water, food, shelter and early recovery. However, many of these projections are subject to post-impact verification once the Government issues an all-clear.

'Hurricane Dorian has virtually stalled over Grand Bahama'

Via The Tribune: HURRICANE DORIAN UPDATES: ‘Severe flooding in Grand Bahama’. Excerpt:

9.30am UPDATE: NEMA is advising the general public that they are receiving reports of severe flooding in many areas of Grand Bahama. Rescue efforts are currently on standby and every effort will be made when the weather permits. NEMA is encouraging people not to attempt to leave their homes and to move to the highest point your house. Twitter Grand Bahama flooding 

8am UPDATE: It appears Hurricane Dorian has virtually stalled over Grand Bahama, according to the National Hurricane Center.  

In New Providence, there is heavy flooding on Bay Street this morning and power is out island-wide.  

Bahamas Power and Light director of public relations Quincy Parker told ZNS this morning that crews are working to restore power.  

He said the Bahamas Power and Light office in Abaco, which was hit by the Category 5 storm on Sunday, has been flattened.  

"The reports out of Abaco as everyone knows were not good," Parker said.  

With regards to the damage Dorian has inflicted on Abaco and Grand Bahama, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in a statement: “Hurricane Dorian has caused extensive damage across the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama in the Bahamas, according to rapid initial assessments from authorities and Red Cross officials on the ground.  

“According to these reports, Dorian’s ferocious category 5 winds and rains have damaged houses and other buildings, leaving many people without adequate shelter. As many as 13,000 houses may have been severely damaged or destroyed. On the island of Abaco, extensive flooding is believed to have contaminated wells with saltwater, creating an urgent need for clean water.”

In Zimbabwe, the water taps run dry and worsen ‘a nightmare’

Via The New York Times: In Zimbabwe, the Water Taps Run Dry and Worsen ‘a Nightmare’. Excerpt:

HARARE, Zimbabwe — It had been five days since water had stopped flowing out of the taps at Eneres Kaitano’s bungalow in southern Harare, Zimbabwe’s modern and tidy capital city. Five days since she had done any laundry. Five days since she had forbidden her children from using the toilet more than once a day.  

On the sixth day, she again rose at 3 a.m. to fetch water from a communal borehole. By the early afternoon, she was still waiting her turn at the tap with her six buckets and cans.  

Much of the city had the same idea. More than half of the 4.5 million residents of Harare’s greater metropolitan area now have running water only once a week, according to the city’s mayor, forcing them to wait in lines at communal wells, streams and boreholes.  

“It is causing us serious problems,” said Ms. Kaitano, a 29-year-old jeans wholesaler who was down to her last clean outfit last week. “We have to stop ourselves from going to the toilet.”

Zimbabwe’s acute water shortage is a result of a particularly bad drought this year, a symptom of climate change. Poor water management has wasted much of the water that remains. Two of Harare’s four reservoirs are empty from lack of rain, but between 45 and 60 percent of the water that’s left is lost through leakage and theft, said Herbert Gomba, the mayor of Harare.

But the water crisis is only a microcosm of Zimbabwe’s malaise. Years of mismanagement under Robert Mugabe, who governed Zimbabwe for 37 years until he was finally ousted in 2017, have left the economy in tatters. Residents are battling daily blackouts that last between 15 and 18 hours; shortages of medicine, fuel and bank notes; and inflation of more than 175 percent.

Floodwater in New Orleans like 'toxic' stew, experts warn. Swimming in it? That's 'crazy'

Via nola.com: Floodwater in New Orleans like 'toxic' stew, experts warn. Swimming in it? That's 'crazy'. Excerpt:

On a day like Wednesday, when the New Orleans area was pounded with as much as seven inches of rain in less than three hours, it may seem like the only way past floodwater is through it. However, experts warn that wading — and especially swimming — through a flood could expose people to a stew of toxic waste and chemicals. 

One video making the rounds on social media showed someone swimming through several feet of water near Canal Street. 

 "That is crazy," said Tiong Aw, a public health microbiologist at Tulane University. "It can be dangerous and can make humans susceptible to infectious diseases and injuries."  

Other experts agreed, noting all manner of potential hazards. 

“If you’re neighboring a rural area, human and livestock waste can get into the floodwater, which can be toxic to humans,” said D.J. Sprenger, a member of Team Rubicon, a disaster response team that provides rescue and resources to areas all over the country. 

“If a residential area is flooded, medical supplies or cleaning agents can be in the water. Wild or stray animals like water snakes or rodents could be swimming in the water,” Sprenger said. “Floodwater can contain downed power lines, and the water current could be charged after a storm.”

After Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005, the Louisiana Department of Health and New Orleans Public Response Team identified 869 cases of potential infectious disease in the weeks immediately afterward and 18 cases of Vibrio skin infections. Vibrio bacteria live in coastal waters and are more active from May through October. Five of those 18 patients died.  

One 60-year-old man arrived at a hospital with ankle wounds and diarrhea after wading through floodwater in New Orleans for three days. Vibrio vulnificus was found in his blood, and he died the next day. 

That particular type of bacteria is known to cause necrotizing fasciitis, a gruesome condition commonly known as flesh-eating bacteria. 

Fortunately, Wednesday's flood seemed to be freshwater, said experts, and Vibrio only grows in brackish water.