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Mariupol has been under the control of troops since May 20. The city is cut off from the world and the situation of the survivors is getting worse by the day. There is no water, no food, no medicine, no heating, and communication is very limited. Corpses of people and animals are decaying in the streets, garbage is piled up, and the water and sewage infrastructure has been significantly damaged. This situation may lead to an epidemic.
- As a result of multiple bomb attacks, the water and sewage infrastructure in Mariupol was significantly damaged. Residents do not have constant access to drinking water, and the transport of sewage is very limited
- The heavy rains haunting the city exacerbate the problem. – Rainwater mixes with municipal sewage, and because this mixture has no outflow, sewage sooner or later ends up on city streets and becomes a place of potential sanitary and epidemiological hazard – explains Witold Sumisławski, an expert in the field of water management
- The situation is critical as there are many mass and makeshift graves in the city, full of decaying corpses of people and animals
- – If the bodies (…) are not buried quickly, decomposition occurs that may endanger drinking water supplies in conflict zones. In this case, we are talking about the risk of infection with E. coli, salmonella, typhoid fever, bacterial dysentery or even cholera – points out Dr. Emilia Skirmuntt, a virologist, adding that infections with pathogens that cause hepatitis and HIV are equally possible.
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Sanitary and epidemiological threat in Mariupol
Mariupol, a port city in eastern Ukraine, is one of the areas most affected by aggression in the entire country. The s very quickly cut the inhabitants off from places where their first needs were met, depriving them of access to drinking water, heating, electricity, communications, medicines and food.
As a result of multiple bomb attacks, a significant part of the water and sewage infrastructure was destroyed, including pumping stations and the main water supply from the reserve reservoir.
The constant threat posed by the aggressor also affects the limited possibilities of burying, and actually transporting the bodies of the dead to separate zones. The bodies are located all over the city, many of them are still under the rubble of dilapidated or collapsed buildings, creating mass “graves”. Only a few bodies were buried in makeshift shallow graves created in courtyards, streets and parks. In the event of a downpour, they may be blurred, the corpse will then flow directly onto the roadways and sidewalks.
Petro Andriushchenko, an advisor to the city mayor, wrote on Telegram that during the demolition of the rubble of one of the blocks, more than 200 bodies were found in its basement. The corpse is at an advanced stage of decomposition. “The bodies of the dead were left on the spot, the partly demolished debris smelled almost all over the estate” – he describes, adding that “the city turned into a cemetery”.
Dr. Valerie Drenga from the municipal hospital in Mariupol spoke about the scale of the problem back in March. In the facility, the bodies of the deceased patients were then buried in the recess of the cellar corridor, right behind the wall of the makeshift “ward” where the shots wounded, patients hospitalized during the outbreak of the war, pregnant women and obstetricians with newborns were lying.
Although some of the residents have been evacuated from Mariupol since then, it is estimated that there are still about 100 people in the city controlled by the s. people. Their situation is dramatic, because apart from the lack of access to basic livelihoods, the risk of an epidemic in Mariupol is increasing.
«Heavy rains turned Mariupol into Venice; Clogged storm sewers and sewers cause rainwater leaks along with the effects of the decay of garbage and human bodies, increasing the risk of an epidemic»- informs Petro Andriushchenko. As he adds, “the threat of an epidemic becomes a reality with each successive storm. However, the occupiers continue to ignore the sanitary challenges in Mariupol. The city desperately needs a new stage of evacuation. The consequences of transforming Mariupol into a ghetto will be disastrous ».
How real is the outbreak in Mariupol and what does it mean for the people in the city – the survivors, but also soldiers of the army? We asked specialists about it: Dr. Emilia Skirmuntt, a virologist from the University of Oxford, and Witold Sumisławski, an expert in the field of water management, who has experience in in crisis management during natural disasters.
The rest of the text below the video.
From the “bowel” to hell – the epidemic is very real
According to Dr Emilia Skirmuntt, armed conflicts and catastrophes with a large number of deaths will always pose an epidemic threat.
If bodies, both human and animal, are not quickly buried, decomposition occurs that can threaten drinking water supplies in conflict zones. The greatest threat is bacteria, which – if they penetrate water intakes and contaminate them – can cause gastrointestinal infections. In this case, we are talking about the risk of infection with E. coli, salmonella, typhoid fever, bacterial dysentery or even cholera.
The virologist draws attention to the fact that the danger is real not only in contact with contaminated water or food. In the conditions in which Mariupol currently operates, direct contact with the corpse, for example during its transport, is also a challenge.
– There is a risk of infection with viral diseases such as HIV or viral hepatitis. Therefore, it is very important to be especially careful in contact with the bodies of the deceased. Medical personnel who transport the bodies should have up-to-date vaccinations as well as protective clothing, Dr. Emilia Skirmuntt points out.
Is it currently possible to maintain these basic safety rules in Mariupol? In a city where access to drugs is very limited, will doctors be able to stop an epidemic?
– If we provide access to clean water and the ability to maintain basic hygiene, the epidemic should not be able to spread easily – says the expert. Infection with the above-mentioned pathogens usually requires contact with the source, i.e. contaminated water, he adds.
Wastewater will sooner or later end up on the streets
Unfortunately, this contact can happen very quickly. The water and sewage infrastructure in Mariupol was one of the first targets of soldiers, and subsequent bomb attacks only aggravated the damage. Water pipes and canals are damaged and their repair options are limited, if not negligible. Residents do not have constant access to drinking water, the sewage system is overloaded, and the problem is aggravated by torrential rains (short-term but very intense rainstorms – ed.). In such a situation, contact with a pathogen capable of causing an epidemic becomes more than likely.
– At the beginning it should be clearly stated that what we are talking about is in the realm of guesswork. We do not know how extensive the damage to the water and sewage infrastructure in Mariupol is or even what sewage system there is, and the scenario of events largely depends on this – emphasizes Witold Sumisławski. – One thing is certain, however: any city affected by hostilities is threatened by a sanitary catastrophe – he adds.
The expert’s assumptions are based on the assumption that in Mariupol there are combined sewerage systems (sanitary sewage and rainwater), separate sewage (sanitary sewage is discharged through channels other than rainwater and snowmelt – ed.) And rainwater sewage systems.
In a city as large as Mariupol, the main sewers, or sewage collectors, largely run along the road or under the road. When they are bombed, they are destroyed and the channels underneath them collapse. Damaged sewage infrastructure, including the combined sewage system, is not able to efficiently transport sewage. If extreme weather phenomena, such as torrential rains, occur, there is a serious problem with the discharge of rainwater. Rainwater mixes with municipal sewage, and because this mixture has no drainage, the sewage sooner or later ends up on city streets and becomes a place of potential sanitary and epidemiological threat.
Within the range of the distribution sewage system, a threat may also arise – when there is a supply of water or through exfiltration from damaged sewers. The sanitary sewage system contains sewage that has nowhere to drain and accumulates. The destruction of such a channel causes underground outflow of pollutants. Contamination spreads through mixing with groundwater. Torrential rains aggravate the negative effects.
– In a state of crisis, the guiding principle of safety is: if sewage cannot be discharged, water must not be supplied through the collective system, i.e. through pipes to the taps. The “problem” is that people in difficult living conditions absolutely need access to water, so when it appears, they will not wonder whether the sewage will flow away or not. They will use water and get rid of sewage, and those, having nowhere to drain, because, for example, the sewage system has been damaged, will simply “return” to them, that is, they will overflow one floor below or onto the street – explains the expert, adding that this also happens during a flood.
– We experienced it on a large scale in Poland in 1997, in particular in Wrocław with a population of 700, which for several weeks was deprived of the possibility of supplying water and collecting sewage. The sewage system, sewage treatment plant, treatment plants and pumping stations as well as a large part of the infrastructure were severely damaged there, comparable to the effects of warfare. Of course, flood and war, despite some similarities, are different worlds, but the knowledge and experience we have gained during the crisis management in Wrocław may be of use to Ukraine at a time when it can finally start its post-war reconstruction – concludes Witold Sumisławski.