Excrement in the drinking water: now the cholera danger comes to the flooded areas Shoigu wants to impose a Wagner mercenary contract – Putin follows

The destruction of the Kakhovka dam by the Russian army in southern Ukraine has led to an enormous catastrophe for humans, animals and nature. Large areas on both sides of the Dnipro River are still under water and Russian troops are said to have already blown up another smaller dam in the Mokri Yaly River.

The barbaric act has greatly increased the health risks of the population, says former director of the Swiss Tropical Institute, Marcel Tanner. The collapse of the dam will affect Crimea’s main source of fresh water, the North Crimean Canal. The dam explosion also endangered the drinking water supply in the flooded areas in the south of the Kherson region, according to the British secret service. He suspects that Russia will meet the water needs in the short term with the help of reservoirs, water rationing and the supply of Russian bottled water.

Flooded sewers wash germs into the water

Even worse, however, is the sanitary crisis affecting the population on both the Ukrainian and Russian-occupied sides of the Dnipro River. The floods of the Kachowska Reservoir flooded and polluted the reservoirs, wells and sewers. Feces were washed down from the sewage treatment plants, sewer pipes and stables.

More bacteria and germs spread through the many dead animals floating in the bodies of water and rotting in the flooded areas. Fish and other aquatic animals have also died in areas where the tide has receded. “If the drinking water is contaminated with faecal bacteria, this leads to diseases in the gastrointestinal tract such as abdominal pain and severe diarrhoea. There is also a risk of cholera outbreaks,” says Tanner. No outbreaks have been reported to date. However, the risk of fecal germs remains for many weeks. These germs will continue to multiply in puddles after the tide recedes.

pesticides, oils and heavy metals

In addition to the faeces, toxins also end up in the drinking water; Industrial chemicals, heavy metals and oils. From the hydroelectric power station of the destroyed dam, 150 tons of machine oil had already been washed into the water. There is also an oil refinery in Kherson. Pesticides, insecticides and fertilizers from the farms were also taken. Due to years of irrigation of this agricultural area, which is very important for the whole world, the soil has become salinized and this salt is now also washed into the drinking water and groundwater.

“The contamination of drinking water leads to skin diseases and chemical burns from washing and bathing,” says Tanner. Washing fruits and vegetables with dirty water introduces germs into the food. Due to the various health risks, there is a risk of larger outbreaks and smaller epidemics in the disaster area, the worst of which would be a cholera outbreak, the Basel public health expert explains. The corona virus is also having an easier time, but it is not the dominant problem. But new crowds evacuating from the flood areas increase the risk of new and more corona outbreaks.

It is also feared that there could be a radioactive hazard as well. After the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986, radionuclides settled at the bottom of the reservoir. If these are washed out of the reservoir, radioactive sediments can end up on the fields and pastures along with other toxins.

Not only the polluted drinking water is a problem for the people. Thousands of Russian mines have been released by the floods. These are now spread over an even wider area. “The mine risk is therefore difficult to estimate, especially for children who find these mines, don’t know about them and detonate them,” says Tanner.

The support staff protects despite the war

Marcel Tanner knows warlike conditions in Africa. In these situations, public health work and immediate medical assistance are very difficult. “You have to mediate between the warring parties and protect the support personnel.” Monitoring the health and care of people is very difficult, so connections with aid workers in the affected areas are important for doctors. “In order to be able to help, a network must be created. There is an opportunity on the Ukrainian side, but not on the Russian side,” said Tanner.

In addition, there is a rapid shortage of medicines in such disaster areas. “On antibiotics, painkillers, but also on simple IVs. Especially during cholera outbreaks. A single cholera patient loses about seven liters of fluid per day, which must be replaced by isotonic infusions,’ says Tanner. “Blowing up the dam not only caused major health risks, but also a major ecological catastrophe with lasting consequences,” says the epidemiologist. (aargauerzeitung.ch)