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Health Check: The myths concerning people’s health after natural disasters

Dead bodies on Leyte, Philippines, after Super Typhoon Haiyan

13/11/2013

The myths concerning people’s health after natural disasters

BBC World Service - Health Check, The myths concerning people’s health after natural disasters

Is it really true that spread of disease is inevitable or that dead bodies pose a risk?

The truth concerning risks to people’s health after natural disasters; Receiving psychotherapy via Skype in Chad; How speaking more than one language delays dementia

According to the United Nation as many as 11 million people in the Philippines have been affected by the typhoon, some of whom are still waiting for help to reach them. There has been discussion about the need to bury dead bodies and the fear of disease spreading, but the risks are actually not quite as one might expect. A lot of myths exist in this field, so to work out exactly what is what, Health Check speaks to Dr Richard Brennan, the WHO’s Director of Emergency Risk & Humanitarian Response. 

Remote counselling
Chad and Canada may be thousands of kilometres apart, but a unique mental health project is connecting the two countries. A Canadian psychologist Neda Faregh, who spent some time in Chad in her childhood, has started offering psychotherapy sessions to clients in Chad; linking up via the internet over Skype. In a country with only one psychiatrist, and where mental health issues are often not recognised as illnesses, what difference is the project making? The BBC’s Celeste Hicks went to find out.

Bilingualism and dementia
In the past, research from Canada and the US has found that speaking more than one language provides a protective effect against dementia. Following on from this work, a new large Indian study confirms this finding and that it can delay the onset of dementia for five years; even for people without education and who are illiterate. Dr Suvarna Alladi from Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad, India, is lead author of the research. 

Picture credit: Dead bodies on Leyte, Philippines after Super Typhoon Haiyan.  Philippe Lopez / AFP / Getty Images.

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