In recent days, more than 20 cases were registered among children. So far the symptoms -fever, vomiting, appearance of pustules- would be mild and none of those infected is in serious condition. Health operators denounce the poor hygienic conditions of the centers, which lack drinking water. The area is the scene of clashes between the military and rebel groups.
Yangon () – In the refugee camps of the Burmese state of Kayah there is a high alert due to the poor hygienic conditions that favor the spread of epidemics (the latest, these days, is an outbreak of chickenpox among children), added to the chronic lack of drinking water and medicine. International observers, concerned about a possible health emergency, are keeping a watchful eye on internally displaced persons (IDP) centers where local populations fleeing violence between the military and rebel groups have taken refuge.
According to reports from Radio Free Asia (RFA), the chickenpox outbreak is spreading with alarming speed due to contaminated water and the lack of personal hygiene of those sheltered in the centers. Humanitarian operators report that more than 20 children have contracted the disease, but cases seem set to increase due to close and prolonged contacts between inmates.
Ko Ba Nyar, a spokesman for the NGO Karenni Human Rights Group (Knhrg), explained that the children began to show the first symptoms, such as general weakness, vomiting and fever, at the end of last month. “[Los casos] began – he added – in the western sector [de la localidad de Demoso]”. Right now Myanmar is in the “rainy season” and it is “difficult to have access to clean drinking water”. Coexistence and overcrowding would then have contributed to the spread of the disease.
Fortunately, at the moment the infections seem to cause a mild illness and none of the affected children are in serious condition, Nyar continued, confirming the “close surveillance” of the refugee camps to prevent further spread. On the other hand, the parents “are not aware” of the risks and “we are treating the affected children with the drugs available in the camps.” In the first cases, the characteristic skin rashes of the disease appeared on the face, abdomen and back.
The main refugee camp in the city of Demoso houses more than 1,400 displaced people from 11 different villages. The sick have difficulty accessing public hospitals due to the ongoing conflict between the army and armed movements that often oppose the central authorities and the coup junta. On the other hand, the health centers in the refugee camp would not be adequate to deal with an epidemic and contain it. In that area, the mobilization of the first armed group began against the junta that with the February 2021 coup ousted the democratic government headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and arrested its leaders. Since then, more than half of the population of Kayah state, close to 200,000 people in all, have fled their homes due to the fighting and repression by the military junta.
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