Hand, foot and mouth disease cause of recent deaths in Cambodia – UN-backed inquiry

Good hygiene practice such as frequent washing of hands can prevent hand foot and mouth disease. UN Photo/Martine Perret

12 July 2012
UN News Centre

A severe form of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) was the cause of the majority of recent illnesses and deaths in children reported in Cambodia, according to a joint investigation by the country’s Government and the United Nations released today.

Following reports from a children’s hospital of unusual numbers of illnesses and deaths among children hospitalized since April 2012, the Cambodian Ministry of Health, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners, conducted an investigation which identified 78 cases of HFMD, 54 of which resulted in deaths.

HFMD is a common infectious disease of infants and children. It is spread through direct contact with the mucus, saliva, or faeces of an infected person. It typically occurs in small epidemics in nursery schools or kindergartens, usually during the summer and autumn months. Nearly all patients recover in 10 days without medical treatment, and complications are uncommon.

Cut price latrine on design award shortlist

Shortlisted designs are being rolled out to rural populations in Cambodia


1 September 2011
Kounila Keo
SciDev.net

[PHNOM PENH] A toilet kit and a self-cleaning water filter are among the innovations shortlisted for a major award that recognises the importance of design in improving lives.

The Easy Latrine and Tulip Siphon Water Filter, both being rolled out in Cambodia, have reached the final round of the Denmark-based INDEX awards which have a top prize of €500,000 (US$711,000), and will be awarded later today.

The US$35 Easy Latrine is an affordable, all-in-one toilet kit aimed at the rural poor in Cambodia, where open defecation is common and 82 per cent of households do not have a toilet.

Food-Borne Illness, Cholera Remain Concerns

A cholera victim, a 60-year-old hill tribesman is comforted by his wife while receiving treatment at Ratanakiri Provincial Hospital in Banlung, located in northeast Cambodia. (Photo: AP)

Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer
Washington, D.C Friday, 28 May 2010

“Specific symptoms of cholera include sudden and large amounts of watery diarrhea and vomiting.”

Cambodia continues to experience a prolonged hot season, and health experts remain concerned about severe illness or fatalities resulting from diarrhea.

“Your body can lose a lot of fluids and salts when you have very loose, watery stool,” Taing Tek Hong, a Florida-based physician, told “Hello VOA” on Thursday. “And it is important to replenish them. You need to drink plenty of fluids.”

He said dehydrated people may need to drink oral rehydration solutions that contain carbohydrates and electrolytes. You can use regular soda or soft drinks to replace water, he said.

Taing Tek Hong also said the rotavirus disease is the most common cause of severe diarrhea in children worldwide and is responsible for the deaths of children in developing countries.

A lack of sanitation or access to clean water can encourage the infection in children before age five, he said.

“In young children, rotavirus disease is characterized by diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and severe dehydration,” he said. “Death is caused by dehydration, not by the virus itself. Rotavirus disease can be treated with zinc tablets. Vaccination offers the best [solution] for preventing severe rotavirus disease.”

Along with watery diarrhea, Cambodians are worried about cholera, with several outbreaks occurring this year.

“Specific symptoms of cholera include sudden and large amounts of watery diarrhea and vomiting,” Taing Tek Hong told a caller. “The stool has a characteristic ‘rice-water’ appearance—grey—and a mild fishy smell. Other symptoms can occur such as thirst, weakness, coma and death. Fever is not a symptom of cholera.”

A simple home remedy of water, salt, sugar and ground charcoal can help rehydrate people with severe diarrhea, he said, following the suggestion of another caller.

One teaspoon of salt and eight teaspoons of sugar can be added to one liter of clean water, along with ground charcoal, he said, which can absorb toxins.

Treatment can include antibiotics, IVs and the replenishment of liquids.

Causes come from germs that infect contaminated food and water, allowing infection of many people through a single source. Microbes can be found in undercooked meat or unwashed food.

Illness can be prevented through hand-washing prior to food preparation, before eating and after using the toilet. Trash should not be thrown in the river, he said.

Singaporean group introduces "floating" toilets in Cambodia

13 December 2008
By Channel NewsAsia's IndoChina correspondent Anasuya Sanyal (S'pore)

CAMBODIA: In rural Cambodia, only 16 per cent of residents have a proper toilet -- the lowest rate in Southeast Asia.

However, one Singaporean group is working to change that.

On Cambodia's great lake, Tonle Sap, water stretches for miles in every direction.

But getting clean drinking water and proper sanitation is another story entirely.

Homes here are floating platforms and must move seasonally, and outhouses are simply a wooden plank over the open water.

Water and sanitation issues are of crucial importance to people who are on Tonle Sap, where safe drinking water comes at a price and toilet facilities are rudimentary.

People have no choice but to contaminate the very same water they use for drinking and washing.

Singaporean non-governmental organisation Lien Aid aims to make a difference in this community of about 10,000 people.

They are introducing the concept of "floating" toilets which are affordable, locally-made, and therefore sustainable.

"It is actually a simple system… We're going to use locally available buckets where they can collect the faeces. We are going to use some locally available agent to dry the faeces, that is, using ashes and other local material," said the CEO of Lien Aid, Sahari Ani.

One key to the project is that locals will have to source and build their own toilets, to ensure that all parts of the community are involved.

"The toilet that we introduce to the community -- they are very happy to get that one and they try to find their own resources to contribute to the project," said the director of the Department of Rural Health Care, Ministry of Rural Development, Chea Samnang.

A young couple, who has two children with another on the way, says they are happy to have a simple and hygienic toilet.

They worry that people's lifelong habits will be difficult to change.

But they hope the affordable toilets will catch on with the lake's residents, just like other modern conveniences that have done so.

And it is testimonies like theirs that makes this project look set to be flush with success.