A rise in skin infections, including ringworm, is causing significant distress among residents of the Aungmyay 2 camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Labang Village, Waingmaw Township, Kachin State.
The Aungmyay 2 camp, home to about 130 households, shelters approximately 600 people who fled from Aungmyay 2 Village and surrounding areas in Waingmaw Township. Among the displaced are roughly 30 students and 20 people with disabilities.
According to one IDP woman, individuals of all ages, from newborns to the elderly, have been affected by the skin disease outbreak. She revealed that nearly every household in the camp has at least one member suffering from a skin condition. The ringworm outbreak has persisted for the past five months, continuing to spread due to limited access to adequate healthcare and treatment.
“The most affected are infants and the elderly,” she explained. “Some people have severe ringworm that covers their entire face, and many infants are suffering from the infection all over their bodies. It’s causing a lot of distress.”
The Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) has dispatched a mobile health team to Aungmyay 2 and other nearby IDP camps every two months, offering healthcare support. However, the team lacks sufficient resources to effectively combat the skin disease outbreak.
The cause of the skin infections remains unclear, though some IDPs believe the outbreak began after several individuals bathed in the Ayeyarwady River, subsequently contracting skin infections that spread throughout the camp.
A health official from Kachin Backpack, a mobile healthcare team assisting IDPs in remote areas, suggested that poor hygiene may be a key factor contributing to the spread of the infections. “Poor personal hygiene is likely the main cause,” he said. “The overcrowded conditions in the camp make it easier for the diseases to spread.”
He also speculated that pollution from excessive gold mining upstream could have contaminated the Ayeyarwady River, leading to skin infections among those who bathed in it.
To address the issue, he emphasized the need for better hygiene practices, along with the provision of soap, medication, and more wells to ensure clean water for the IDPs.
The residents of Aungmyay 2 camp were displaced in March 2024 due to intense fighting between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Myanmar military junta. Similar camps have been established in nearby Labang and Nawngching villages, where IDPs are also in urgent need of food, medicine, and shelter.
Concerns are growing over the potential consequences of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive orders, which included withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO) and suspending international aid. These actions could worsen the plight of IDPs in Myanmar, making it even harder for them to receive the help they desperately need.
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