DİYARBAKIR- Diyarbakir City Protection and Solidarity Earthquake Crisis Center Executive, SES Branch Co-Chair Şiyar Güldiken stated that Mange had started in the tent areas in the city and said that they expected the disease to peak over the weekend.

 

Şiyar Güldiken, Co-chairman of the Health and Social Services Workers Union (SES) Amed Branch, of the Diyarbakir City Protection and Solidarity Platform's Earthquake Crisis Center, evaluated the developments in the field of health in Diyarbakır, which is among the 11 provinces affected by the earthquakes in Maraş. Expressing that they do not know the exact number of patients in Diyarbakır, where 409 people were found dead from the wreckage of 7 collapsed buildings, Güldiken said that this was because the authorities stopped sharing information with the Diyarbakır City Protection and Solidarity Platform Earthquake Crisis Center.

 

According to the data they obtained from their own sources, approximately 50 patients were treated at Dicle University Faculty of Medicine and Gazi Yaşargil Training and Research Hospital, and some patients under the age of 18 were treated at the Gynecology and Children's Hospital. Stating that some of those under treatment are limb loss and those who are imputed, Güldiken stated that the occupancy rate of hospitals in Amed is around 60 percent with the number of patients brought from outside, adding, "However, information about the exact number is not shared with us."

 

Emphasizing that this occupancy rate is higher than the number of patients considering Diyarbakır's being an earthquake zone, Güldiken noted that there has been an increase in the number of patients, especially in psychiatry outpatient clinics and emergency services, and they think that this is temporary.

 

‘MANGE DISEASE STARTED, WE ARE WAITING FOR IT TO PICK’

 

Stating that mange has started in tent areas and they expect it to peak this weekend, Güldiken said: “This is also what the Director of Public Health said because we know that mange is high. It's a touch-borne disease. This disease already existed before the earthquake. It has been observed that it has almost disappeared with the cleaning and hygiene rules, especially with the public living areas. We also think that this disease will increase. At the same time, there is a problem of clean water, a toilet problem, a bathroom problem. All of these need to be fixed as soon as possible. They gave information that these will be eliminated in the tent city by the Tigris River, but it is not possible to say how healthy this is.”

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