Health concerns for cyclone survivors in the Irrawaddy Delta have flared again after reports over the weekend of a dysentery outbreak. Health related NGO’s and UN bodies issued warnings in the aftermath of the cyclone that water borne diseases were bound to be a problem if the health needs of survivors were not met with sufficient diligence. These warnings went unheeded for the most part however by the Burmese authorities, who have been seemingly lax in addressing health concerns of survivors. There are many factors that are contributing to the deteriorating health situation confronting survivors. Dead bodies are still floating in the rivers and the authorities and locals alike are struggling to deal with the corpses which are polluting water sources. Though bodies are being cremated, the numbers are too great to be addressed without an increased effort on behalf of the government. Villages in the hardest hit areas are not receiving sufficient medical care and there are inadequate numbers of toilets as well as a clean water shortage. Dysentery has become a problem in Bogolay and Laputta Townships with doctors there estimating that around 20 percent of patients are struggling with the symptoms of dysentery. The effects of the dysentery outbreak are being compounded by the fact that there are relatively few medical staff in certain areas. For example, sources report that in Aye Yar village, there are around ninety cases of people with dysentery and only one nurse to cope with the situation.

The situation does not look set to improve in the near future, as the Burmese government has seemingly gone back on its earlier promise to allow full and free access to the delta region. Access for foreign workers is still limited in many parts of the delta, though a large international assessment team is due to descend on the Laputta area to begin finally making a needs assessment of the region.

The crisis in Burma is beginning to have flow on effects for its neighbors with reported rises in the numbers of migrants crossing the border to safety in Thailand. Sources in Mae Sot report that roughly a hundred people have crossed the border recently, including a number of orphaned children. The survivors are seeking shelter and medical treatment as well as food. The survivors are providing first hand accounts of the fact that regime has done little to provide emergency assistance to survivors, leaving them with no choice but to cross the border in order to survive. The influx of Burmese refugees will put added strain on cross border relations as well as the interaction between the border relief agencies and the Thai authorities. The extra mouths to feed, and bodies to house and clothe, also places an extra burden on those attending to refugee needs along the border. Camps such as Mae La are already facing ration cuts by the TBBC this year, and further residents will put on a strain on precious resources there, especially in light of the rising prices of essential commodities such as rise. Those who have reached the safety of Thailand are sure to be reluctant to return as they come from areas that were largely destroyed when Nargis ripped through their villages in early May.

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