Al Mustafa Welfare Trust UK is planning to setup Mobile Medical Camps in Sylhet and Dhaka, Bangladesh providing free medical care to the poor. We will setup camp in Sylhet on Wednesday,
20th June 2012. Free medicine will be given at the camp to over 10,000 patients.
Our camp in Dhaka will be setup on Saturday 23 June 2012.
We will have doctors and volunteers on standby to help treat men, women and children. Our aim is to reach 50,000 people suffering from various diseases through our free mobile medical camps.
Al-Mustafa will share the reports and pictures during and after the camps on this blog.
About Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a country with about 130 million people living in
an area of 148,393 square kilometre making the country one with the highest
population density in the world. Economically Bangladesh is in a less than an
enviable position; it is generally ranked among the world's 10 poorest
countries. Over 80% of the population of Bangladesh live in the 64,000 villages
of this agrarian country.
Villages lack good sanitation and clean drinking
water, and are beset with numerous other problems such as poor communication,
lack of electricity, inadequate health services, etc. Defecation in open air is
common all over Bangladesh. Overall conditions in rural Bangladesh are highly
congenial for rapid transmission of enteric pathogens through the faecal-oral
route, which is reflected in the disease profile the country. In
cities there is usually some sanitation system in place but the system suffers
from many inadequacies and cannot be regarded as intrinsically much better.
Although cities provide water to its dwellers, which is supposed to be safe, the
poorly maintained sewerage system often contaminates the water during
distribution, and overflow of sewage during rain and flooding is a regular
phenomenon releasing heavy load of germ on the surface.
Common Diseases
The most prevalent diseases found in Bangladesh is food and water-borne related that is acquired through eating or drinking.
The most common category of water-borne diseases is represented by diarrhoea. There are two major types, watery diarrhoea and dysentery. Cholera is the prototype of severe watery diarrhoea caused by the bacteria Vibrio Cholerae. Certain other bacteria (bacilli) such as shigellae cause dysentery type of diarrhoea commonly called bacillary dysentery. A group of salmonella bacteria that enter the gut through water may or may not cause diarrhoea at the onset of infection but their actual clinical manifestation is a type of fever called enteric fever, the prototype of which is typhoid fever.
Diarrhoea and other gastro-intestinal diseases are caused by pathogens that are water-borne or are carried through the medium of water. These diseases account for nearly a quarter of all illnesses in Bangladesh - about 12% by diarrhoea, and 10% by other gastro-intestinal illness including enteric fever. Thus water plays a major role in the overall disease profile of the country; air being the second most important vehicle accounting for 11% of all illnesses which includes pneumonia and other infections of the respiratory tract.
Diarrhoeal and other gastro-intestinal diseases follow a transmission pattern that is called faecal-oral transmission. The pathogen is released into the environment with faeces where it stays until finding re-entry through the oral route with contaminated food and water. The overall sanitation and personal hygiene standard of the community or the country thus in a large measure determines the extent of re-entry of the pathogen into the body. In a situation where disposal of faeces is unhygienic, surface water will be readily contaminated by the offending pathogens released with faeces leading to high level of faecal-oral transmission. Bacteria, unicellular intestinal parasites such as amoeba and Giardia, and the infectious units (eggs and cysts) of intestinal worms are transmitted through this route.
Other Diseases found in Bangladesh
Hepatitis A - viral disease that interferes with the functioning of the liver; spread through consumption of food or water contaminated with fecal matter, principally in areas of poor sanitation; victims exhibit fever, jaundice, and diarrhea; 15% of victims will experience prolonged symptoms over 6-9 months; vaccine available.
Hepatitis E - water-borne viral disease that interferes with the functioning of the liver; most commonly spread through fecal contamination of drinking water; victims exhibit jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, and dark colored urine.
Typhoid Fever - bacterial disease spread through contact with food or water contaminated by fecal matter or sewage; victims exhibit sustained high fevers; left untreated, mortality rates can reach 20%.
vectorborne diseases acquired through the bite of an infected arthropod:
Malaria - caused by single-cell parasitic protozoa Plasmodium; transmitted to humans via the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito; parasites multiply in the liver attacking red blood cells resulting in cycles of fever, chills, and sweats accompanied by anemia; death due to damage to vital organs and interruption of blood supply to the brain; endemic in 100, mostly tropical, countries with 90% of cases and the majority of 1.5-2.5 million estimated annual deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.
Dengue Fever - mosquito-borne (Aedes aegypti) viral disease associated with urban environments; manifests as sudden onset of fever and severe headache; occasionally produces shock and hemorrhage leading to death in 5% of cases.
Yellow Fever - mosquito-borne viral disease; severity ranges from influenza-like symptoms to severe hepatitis and hemorrhagic fever; occurs only in tropical South America and sub-Saharan Africa, where most cases are reported; fatality rate is less than 20%.
Japanese Encephalitis - mosquito-borne (Culex tritaeniorhynchus) viral disease associated with rural areas in Asia; acute encephalitis can progress to paralysis, coma, and death; fatality rates 30%.
African Trypanosomiasis - caused by the parasitic protozoa Trypanosoma; transmitted to humans via the bite of bloodsucking Tsetse flies; infection leads to malaise and irregular fevers and, in advanced cases when the parasites invade the central nervous system, coma and death; endemic in 36 countries of sub-Saharan Africa; cattle and wild animals act as reservoir hosts for the parasites.
Cutaneous Leishmaniasis - caused by the parasitic protozoa leishmania; transmitted to humans via the bite of sandflies; results in skin lesions that may become chronic; endemic in 88 countries; 90% of cases occur in Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and Peru; wild and domesticated animals as well as humans can act as reservoirs of infection.
Plague - bacterial disease transmitted by fleas normally associated with rats; person-to-person airborne transmission also possible; recent plague epidemics occurred in areas of Asia, Africa, and South America associated with rural areas or small towns and villages; manifests as fever, headache, and painfully swollen lymph nodes; disease progresses rapidly and without antibiotic treatment leads to pneumonic form with a death rate in excess of 50%.
Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever - tick-borne viral disease; infection may also result from exposure to infected animal blood or tissue; geographic distribution includes Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe; sudden onset of fever, headache, and muscle aches followed by hemorrhaging in the bowels, urine, nose, and gums; mortality rate is approximately 30%.
Rift Valley Fever - viral disease affecting domesticated animals and humans; transmission is by mosquito and other biting insects; infection may also occur through handling of infected meat or contact with blood; geographic distribution includes eastern and southern Africa where cattle and sheep are raised; symptoms are generally mild with fever and some liver abnormalities, but the disease may progress to hemorrhagic fever, encephalitis, or ocular disease; fatality rates are low at about 1% of cases.
Chikungunya - mosquito-borne (Aedes aegypti) viral disease associated with urban environments, similar to Dengue Fever; characterized by sudden onset of fever, rash, and severe joint pain usually lasting 3-7 days, some cases result in persistent arthritis.
water contact diseases acquired through swimming or wading in freshwater lakes, streams, and rivers:
Leptospirosis - bacterial disease that affects animals and humans; infection occurs through contact with water, food, or soil contaminated by animal urine; symptoms include high fever, severe headache, vomiting, jaundice, and diarrhea; untreated, the disease can result in kidney damage, liver failure, meningitis, or respiratory distress; fatality rates are low but left untreated recovery can take months.
Schistosomiasis - caused by parasitic trematode flatworm Schistosoma; fresh water snails act as intermediate host and release larval form of parasite that penetrates the skin of people exposed to contaminated water; worms mature and reproduce in the blood vessels, liver, kidneys, and intestines releasing eggs, which become trapped in tissues triggering an immune response; may manifest as either urinary or intestinal disease resulting in decreased work or learning capacity; mortality, while generally low, may occur in advanced cases usually due to bladder cancer; endemic in 74 developing countries with 80% of infected people living in sub-Saharan Africa; humans act as the reservoir for this parasite.
Aerosolized dust or soil contact disease acquired through inhalation of aerosols contaminated with rodent urine:
Lassa Fever - viral disease carried by rats of the genus Mastomys; endemic in portions of West Africa; infection occurs through direct contact with or consumption of food contaminated by rodent urine or fecal matter containing virus particles; fatality rate can reach 50% in epidemic outbreaks.
respiratory disease acquired through close contact with an infectious person:
Meningococcal Meningitis - bacterial disease causing an inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord; one of the most important bacterial pathogens is Neisseria meningitis because of its potential to cause epidemics; symptoms include stiff neck, high fever, headaches, and vomiting; bacteria are transmitted from person to person by respiratory droplets and facilitated by close and prolonged contact resulting from crowded living conditions, often with a seasonal distribution; death occurs in 5-15% of cases, typically within 24-48 hours of onset of symptoms; highest burden of meningococcal disease occurs in the hyperendemic region of sub-Saharan Africa known as the "Meningitis Belt" which stretches from Senegal east to Ethiopia.
Animal contact disease acquired through direct contact with local animals:
Rabies - viral disease of mammals usually transmitted through the bite of an infected animal, most commonly dogs; virus affects the central nervous system causing brain alteration and death; symptoms initially are non-specific fever and headache progressing to neurological symptoms; death occurs within days of the onset of symptoms.
How you can help
As you will realise after reading this long list of diseases that the people of Bangladesh are prone to a wide range of life threatening diseases that can spread rapidly. Due to the high levels of poverty and limited drugs it is an uphill battle to treat such a hugh population that is densly populated in the cities of Dhaka and Sylhet. We urge you to help support this project generously.
We are also looking to work for local government hospitals in Dhaka and Sylhet who are willing to participate in our project of providing long term medical care on a permanent basis. Please contact
ikhlaq@almustafatrust.org for more information.
Please support our free medical camps for Bangladesh. You can make a donation by visiting our
website or call our hotline number:
+44(0)208 569 6444.
