*** DEBUG START ***
*** DEBUG END ***

Charity fears outbreak of diphtheria among Rohingya refugees

22 December 2017

World Vision

In jeopardy: a Rohingya woman feeds her child in a refugee camp supported by the charity World Vision

In jeopardy: a Rohingya woman feeds her child in a refugee camp supported by the charity World Vision

ROHINGYA refugee camps are facing the possibility of a severe outbreak of diphtheria, a Christian aid agency has warned.

Samaritan’s Purse, an international disaster-relief organisation, has said that refugees from Myanmar in Bangladesh are under threat.

Before December, the World Health Organisation was logging five cases of diphtheria a day in the camps, with a total of 804 suspected cases before 12 December. The rate of infection has increased rapidly since then. Samaritan’s Purse reports that, on some days, more than 100 cases are now being reported.

Elizabeth Quelch, who is part of the charity’s medical team, reported: “Approximately 24,000 children have been vaccinated against diphtheria since 12 December, with 1077 problematic cases having been recently reported. We’re expecting the outbreak to get a lot more severe.”

The mortality rate for diphtheria is five-ten per cent, but can be as much as 20 per cent for young children or those over the age of 40.

More than 620,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar in recent months, after violent repression by the country’s security forces (News, 6 October 2017). Myan­mar has said that the Rohingya are recent migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and denies them the full rights of Burmese citizenship. Myanmar has denied reports of atrocities, but Médecins Sans Frontières has said that 6700 Rohingya Muslims were killed at the beginning of a crackdown by the Burmese military in August. In November the Prime Minister said the Rohingya were facing “destruction” and the actions of the country’s military look “like ethnic cleansing” (News, 17 November 2017).

The majority of the refugees are housed in temporary camps, with little access to proper health-care and sanitation; thus diseases can spread quickly.

Dr Sean Campbell, the executive director of Samaritan’s Purse, said that he was “terrified about the devastation a diphtheria outbreak could cause. . . I’ve visited dozens of refugee camps around the world and this one is the worst by far.”

Browse Church and Charity jobs on the Church Times jobsite

Forthcoming Events

Church Times/RSCM:

Festival of Faith and Music

26 - 28 April 2024

See the full programme on the festival website. 

Early bird tickets available

 

Church Times/Sarum College:

Traditions of Christian Spirituality

January - May 2024

This is a five-part series on major strands of the Christian spiritual tradition.

Book individual session tickets or sign up for the full programme

 

Green Church Awards

Closing date: 30 June 2024

Read more details about the awards

 

Welcome to the Church Times

​To explore the Church Times website fully, please sign in or subscribe.

Non-subscribers can read four articles for free each month. (You will need to register.)