16 January 2018
Bristol Royal Infirmary emergency department registrar part of the UK response to Bangladesh diphtheria outbreak
A registrar from the emergency department at the Bristol Royal
Infirmary is part of the UK's medical response to the diphtheria
outbreak in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
Andy Lockyer is one of more than 40 British doctors, nurses and
firefighters from the UK's Emergency Medical Team (EMT) to be
deployed in the region. It is the first time the EMT has been
deployed by the Department for International Development since it
was certified by the World Health Organisation in 2016.
Diphtheria is a fast spreading, extremely deadly infection, and
there are a reported 160 new cases every day in Cox's Bazar, which
is home to more than 600,000 Rohingya people. It causes extreme
difficulty breathing, inflammation of the heart which can lead to
heart failure, problems with the nervous system and fatal
paralysis.
This is the first time Andy has been part of a humanitarian
response like this, and his colleagues at home have been very
supportive.
Andy said: "We are trying to treat a group of very unwell,
vulnerable people with a very difficult treatment.
"We are really pleased that the number of new diphtheria cases
is now stabilising.
"Rates going down is not evidence to show the outbreak was not
as bad as feared, it actually shows how successful we were in
getting it under control so quickly."
One of the people Andy has treated in four year old Anowar, a
young boy who is the same age as Andy's daughter. Watch below to
see him being treated and hear Andy's thoughts during the third day
of their deployment.
For information about the UK EMT's response to the diphtheria
crisis, click here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/british-medical-heroes-deploying-to-combat-deadly-diphtheria-outbreak-in-bangladesh
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