(C34) Cyclone Nargis—The Team Singapore Experience

Abstract

Introduction:

Cyclone Nargis struck on 02 May 2008 and was the worst disaster due to natural hazards in the recorded history of Myanmar. It left > 146,000 people dead and thousands more homeless. More than 200 hospitals and 400 clinics were destroyed by the cyclone. Singapore was the first non-bordering country to send a medical team to help Myanmar with the disaster relief efforts and carried out operations using mobile teams.

Methods:

Demographic and medical data from the medical records were collected and analyzed.

Results:

A total of 4,489 patients were seen in nine days at hospitals, eight camps/villages, an orphanage, and an elderly care facility. Of the patients, 65% were female. More than a quarter of the patients were <12 years of age and 16.5% were >60 years old. The pediatrie patients suffered mainly from respiratory (26%) and gastrointestinal infections (28%), whereas the adults had a significant number of mus-culoskeletal complaints (21%), non-specific diagnoses (19%), and chronic medical conditions (11%). Only (6%) of the conditions required surgical interventions. A significant number of complaints were related to post traumatic stress disorder (10%).

Conclusions:

Mobile clinics were useful for treating patients who did not have access to medical care. The post disaster epidemics that were expected were not experienced. Given the patient load, it was useful to have a pediatrician, primary healthcare physician, and emergency physician to cope with the cyclone-related medical conditions.