JEDDAH, 6 January — A number of typhoid and hepatitis-A cases has been reported among Saudis living in Alkhumra area in south Jeddah.
A source at the Health Affairs Department in Jeddah, while confirming the incidence of the disease, said the typhoid cases were not contagious and that there was no cause for alarm.
He said health officials after detecting some typhoid cases in an area close to a school in Alkhumra had taken adequate precautionary measures. The source attributed the spread of disease to dumping of animal carcasses and harmful garbage in the area in addition to mosquitoes breeding in sewage.
The source did not reveal the number of typhoid or hepatitis-A cases reported saying that accurate data were not available. He said the Health Ministry had received information about deaths of cattle in various parts of south Jeddah.
Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Suwaiyyegh, a Shoura Council member, said the situation in Alkhumra was only part of the problems faced by Jeddah due to negligence of civic services. "The present situation of Alkhumra may make it a small Jizan in the heart of Jeddah," he added.
He urged the Jeddah Municipality to take practical steps to solve health and environmental problems instead of making statements and promises. "Our decision-makers should give priority to avoid turning such small problems into big catastrophes," he said, alluding to the deaths caused by Rift Valley Fever in Jizan and neighboring regions.
The animal deaths were blamed on dangerous garbage dumped in the area during night by unidentified people. He also said burning of insulated cables in the area released toxic fumes posing danger to people's health. Some unscrupulous people, said to be illegal immigrants from Africa, burn the cables and retrieve the copper inside to sell them.
A team from the ministry's preventive medicine section had visited the region after the health department received a call from the Presidency for Girls Education in Jeddah about the presence of mosquito-breeding swamps around girls schools in the area.
An official source at the Jeddah municipality said the ministry along with police had worked out a plan to track down those who dump animal carcasses and other dangerous garbage in Alkhumra and other parts of the city.
Those held for illegal dumping will be given tough punishment including fines of up to SR10,000, the official said. He said vehicles used for dumping garbage would be confiscated. The official called on citizens to inform the municipality of violations in this respect.
The Health Ministry source ruled out the possibility of spreading Rift Valley Fever in Jeddah. He said the single case reported in the city was a Yemeni expatriate who contracted the disease from Qunfuda and was taken to Jeddah for treatment. But the source warned about the spread of mosquitoes carrying a virus of a particular fever.
Warehouse owners in Alkhumra have expressed their concern over the growing number of dead animals that are often thrown in front of their facilities, causing pollution. The swamps in the area, caused by recent rains, have also become a breeding ground of mosquitoes, they said.
