Health aspects of the Tsunami disaster in Asia.

This is a summary of the proceedings of the Conference on the Health Aspects of the Tsunami Disaster in Asia that was convened by the World Health Organization in Phuket, Thailand from 04-06 May 2005. It contains reviews of the experiences of the health sector and early recovery following the Earthquake and Tsunami with emphasis on what was done well and what could have been done better and the lessons learned that can be incorporated into actions that will mitigate the damage created by future events. It outlines the national and international responses and recovery and the actions taken and not taken by the international community in support of the countries affected. Specific issues addressed include: (1) needs assessments; (2) coordination; (3) filling gaps in essential services, and (4) capacity building at the country level. Each of these aspects is analyzed as to its: (1) appropriateness; (2) adequacy; (3) effectiveness; (4) efficiency; and (5) connectedness. Much of what occurred provided benefits to the stricken population, but there is substantial room for improvement through implementation of the lessons learned. These lessons must be converted into actions in order to mitigate the damage sustained and to enhance our responses to the damage from future events.

Acute health impact of the gas release at Lake Nyos, Cameroon, 1986

Available medical evidence on the acute health impact of the gas release at Lake Nyos is summarised, including the results of a survey of medical records of 845 survivors treated at Wum and Nkambe hospitals. The main clinical features were compatible with exposure to an asphyxiant gas such as CO2 but confirmation of the identity of the gas or gases involved was not possible. Exposure to CO2 over such a large inhabited area and reversible coma lasting for hours after CO2 gassing do not appear to have been reported before. In some victims, blistering or ulceration of the skin was present which could not be readily explained by local injury from pressure, or burns from acid, or falling near fires. Further epidemiolgical studies on survivors are unlikely to be feasible, but the possibility of long-term anoxic brain damage among adults and children who had been rendered comatose by the gas sould be considered, though overt evidenceof major neurological or respiratory disability was not apparent in survivors in the weeks following the disaster. The inadequacy of the toxicological and forensic evidence obtained points to the need for the rapid mobilisation of medical scientists in future disasters of this kind