Question
Will the number of dead bodies in Haiti lead to epidemics?
Answer
Dead, decomposing bodies smell terrible and they are unsightly and upsetting. However, the notion that corpses spread disease and cause epidemics after natural disasters such as earthquakes is a myth - a persistent and harmful myth. In the hours and days after disaster strikes, the focus should always be on the living.
Pathogens spread among and thrive in live people. The chaos and unhygienic conditions that exist in the wake of disasters are what fuel epidemics. Don't blame the dead. The Red Cross, a humanitarian group with expertise in cadaver management, says it is essential to avoid hasty and unco-ordinated disposal of bodies and that corpses should never be disposed of in mass graves.
Keeping cadavers - or, minimally, photographing them and taking DNA samples before burial - may seem unpalatable, but it is essential for identification. Hasty disposal of bodies hampers rescue efforts and prolongs the pain of families of the "missing." Even people handling bodies such as rescue workers and mortuary staff are at little risk of contracting illnesses. Pathogens rarely survive more than two days in a dead body and risks can be avoided with simple precautions such as wearing gloves and hand washing. Masks are worn principally to lessen the smell, though the favoured technique among veteran aid workers is to block their nostrils with Vicks VapoRub.
Question
The media seem to be using "Haiti" as shorthand for Port-au-Prince. To what extent was the rest of the country actually damaged? And how is the rest of the country functioning in the face of the devastation of the capital?
Answer
While most media outlets are based in Port-au-Prince and the damage has been devastating, other parts of Haiti have also been badly affected. Roughly 90 per cent of Léogâne, the hardest-hit area, has been destroyed, and 60 per cent of Jacmel - the family home of Governor-General Michaëlle Jean - has been flattened. Residents in Léogâne reported geysers shooting water and lava five metres into the air when the quake hit the seaside town. Aid trickles in slowly. Many Canadian soldiers are setting up in Jacmel and nearby Léogâne, where Canada will focus its relief efforts.
Compiled by Caroline Alphonso
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