JEDDAH: Children in the areas that suffered from last week’s heavy rain innocently jump around barefoot in the filthy and stagnant water lingering on the streets. They help their families retrieve some of their belongings from under the mud and piles of rubbish unaware of the biological dangers.
“This stagnant water is a source of diseases,” said pediatrician Dr. Suad Jaber.
The doctor cited typhoid and salmonella among the list of potential infections people could contract from the leftover water. Some of the health effects will be immediate and others will take time before they appear.
The standing water could hide other dangers, says Jaber, including sharp debris that can cause lacerations that then become infected.
The ground is uneven at places, and the water hides potholes and other deep traps that could lead to drowning. “Children can drown even in shallow water,” warned the doctor.
The longer the water is left without treatment, the more insects will breed and spread diseases such as dengue fever and malaria. Because Jeddah temperatures are low this time of year, streets covered with sewage-tainted floodwaters can take weeks to evaporate on their own.
“The water has to be removed as soon as possible,” she said.
Dr. Samar Al-Saggaf, associate professor and former dean at King Abdulaziz University, said the problem is that there has been a lot of effort to rescue and help people but not enough is being done about the lingering public health concerns.
“No one is doing anything on health awareness,” said Al-Saggaf. “This crisis is new to us. There is supposed to be community preventative medicine along with rescue and relief efforts.”
The doctor has organized medial student volunteers to accompany charity organizations as they visit the affected areas to administer medicine and distribute donated drugs as needed, and to provide medical care.
She said that on Saturday a meeting would be held among doctors concerned with preventive medicine to start an awareness campaign and mobilize resources.
