Public prosecutors will investigate the diarrhea outbreak.
The State Public Prosecutor's Office will develop an action plan to investigate the responsibilities for the diarrhea outbreak that affected 28 people in 27 municipalities in the Agreste and Sertão regions and caused 37 deaths in Alagoas. Another 40 cities are on permanent alert because patients with the same disease have already appeared. It is already known that the outbreak was due to contaminated water consumed by the population and that it may have come from the water supply system of the Water Supply Company, from water trucks, from the private distribution or sale of water by means of donkey carts and oxcarts that collect the liquid in contaminated locations, or even from the use of water from the dam.
Alagoas247 - The Public Ministry (MP) of Alagoas informed, this Wednesday (17), that it will investigate the causes of the diarrhea outbreak that affects 27 municipalities in the state and caused 37 deaths. This Thursday, there will be a meeting, in Arapiraca, between prosecutors and public prosecutors to investigate those responsible for the outbreak. The MP wants to know if there was negligence on the part of the public authorities.
“We are going to conduct a survey, based on the report we received from the State Health Department, of the municipalities affected by the epidemic and where the deaths occurred. After that, we will develop an action strategy, which will begin by demanding explanations from the bodies responsible for the treatment and distribution of water in those cities. We will hear from Casal (the water company), the municipalities, the State, and even the Army, which is responsible for transporting the water trucks,” explained Attorney General Geraldo Magela.
“It is clear that there was, at the very least, negligence in this case, and the blame must be determined. We need to know if there was intent or not on the part of the institutions responsible for supplying water to residents of the municipalities where the disease became an outbreak,” added Magela.
The coordinator of the Public Heritage Defense Unit confirmed that the State Health Department (Sesau) sent a report to the Public Prosecutor's Office of Alagoas (MP/AL) outlining the epidemic situation in dozens of cities, mainly in the Agreste and Sertão regions. “Deaths from diarrhea are common in underdeveloped countries, which is not the case in Brazil. We will demand more respect for public health from public officials and urgent measures to try to reverse the problem before other people also die from severe dehydration. Interventions must be made urgently, particularly regarding basic sanitation,” declared José Carlos Castro.
Prosecutor Micheline Tenório pointed out that, in the last month of May alone, medical care for cases of diarrhea increased by more than 200% compared to the same period last year. “In 2012 there was also rain and cases of patients affected by this illness were recorded. However, now in 2013, the numbers are alarming because they already exceed 28 sick people, with 37 deaths between May and June. There are 27 cities in epidemic and another 40 in a state of permanent alert because patients with the same disease have already appeared. What the Public Prosecutor's Office wants is for each agency to recognize where there were failures and start correcting them immediately. The life of a sick citizen cannot wait,” she warned.
The worrying data
The diarrhea epidemic particularly affects municipalities suffering from drought and with HDIs (Human Development Index used by the United Nations (UN) to analyze the quality of life of a given population) well below the recommended target, which ranges from 0 to 1.
According to data from the State Health Department, the outbreak of the disease was mainly due to contaminated water consumed by the population, which may have come from the Casal water supply system, water trucks, private distribution or sale of water via donkey carts and oxcarts that collect the liquid in contaminated locations, or even from the use of water from the dam. The latter usually occurs due to drought and is considered an alternative source of supply.
According to the Alagoas Drought Relief Committee, in Palmeira dos Índios, the city where the numbers are most severe, 10 deaths and more than 7,200 cases of diarrhea have been recorded so far in 2013. Thirteen other municipalities, which are in a state of emergency or calamity due to the drought, have recorded at least one death due to the disease.
With gazetaweb.com and press office