Poverty big issue in the fight against diarrhoeal diseases

A leading health expert and microbiologist today said poverty is a big issue in the fight against diarrhoeal diseases.
"Due to poverty in our neighbouring countries, diarrhoea rules the roost and the endemicity of diarrhoeal disease is higher in certain places," said Dr G Balakrish Nair, Acting Regional Adviser at the Communicable Diseases Department of the Regional Office of World Health Organisation for South-East Asia, New Delhi.
He said compared to people belonging to higher socio-economic group, poor people do not have access to clean water and nutrition.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the three-day 14th Asian Conference on Diarrhoeal Disease and Nutrition (ASCODD), which began here today.

The conference is being organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, a national institute under the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India in association with International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), the INCLEN Trust International (INCLEN INT)and the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED), Kolkata.
In Kerala, the high literacy factor enables proportional decline in the incidence of diarrhoea, he said.

"Basically, where sanitation and hygiene is compromised and water is contaminated, there is every chance of spreading of diarrhoea. The transmission is either person to person, drinking water to person or contaminated food to person," Nair is quoted as saying in a release issued by the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology here.

Delivering the special address at the conference, incoming president of the ASCODD Firrdausi Qadri said a major cholera outbreak in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh was prevented by launching one of the fastest vaccination programmes in the world.
"The signs of a major outbreak of cholera were evident in the Rohingya camps because of the unhygienic conditions. With combined efforts of the national and international agencies, the World Health Organisation disbursed nine lakh doses of oral vaccination within six days, which is one of the fastest vaccination programmes in the world," said the release quoting Qadri.
The conference is themed on "Saving lives:innovations and solutions for diarrhoeal diseases, enteric fever and malnutrition," which is majorly supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

RGCB Director Dr M Radhakrishna Pillai underscored vastly improved healthcare facilities in Kerala and the state's preparedness to deal with severe health hazards.
"Diarrhoeal diseases are termed among the deadliest ailments across the world. However, in Kerala, the scenario is much better. The infant mortality rate is 06 per thousand births. The state has a highly-efficient healthcare system in place leading to a Kerala model of healthcare," he said.
Over 60 scientists from countries, including the UK, the US, Bangladesh, Germany, India, France and Sweden, are to present papers and lead discussions in 10 sessions spread over the three days.