Vol. 2 No. 1 Specials

Within a week of the tsunami that devastated Southeast Asia, the Yale University community rallied to help the victims and their families. Soon, students and faculty alike were fundraising, signing petitions to increase U.S. aid and holding benefit concerts, shows, and dinners. The Yale University School of Medicine and Yale-New Haven Hospital have focused on sending money and medical supplies, yet some doctors and healthcare workers have been visiting the tsunami afflicted regions independently. Neurosurgery resident Dr. Gowriharan “Ty” Thaiyananthan and physician’s assistant Brian Korn left for Sri Lanka on January 20th. Less than 24 hours before embarking on the flight to Sri Lanka, I spoke with Dr. Thaiyananthan on the public health situation in the tsunami-afflicted regions.

Lekshmi Santhosh: Thank you so much for being here with us today.

Dr. Gowriharan “Ty” Thaiyananthan: It’s my pleasure.

PH: With some other Yale doctors, you are going to Sri Lanka with the International Medical Health Organization. Tell us more about this group and why you chose it?

Ty: It’s an organization composed mostly of Sri Lankan healthcare workers – doctors, physician’s assistants, pharmacists, and nurses. It’s a group that specifically tries to get healthcare to the northeastern part of Sri Lanka. It’s a nonpolitical organization that is trying to serve a community of people. The group was around for five or six years before the tsunami hit; now there’s a lot more interest. In fact, I think we doubled our membership, since this tragedy gives people a common thread.

PH: How has Yale-New Haven Hospital responded so far?

Ty: As of now, there is no grand Yale medical effort. Right now there is a radiologist down there, some pediatricians, and epidemiologist from the School of Public Health. Brian Orn and I, neurosurgery residents, are from northeastern Sri Lanka. We are going to be doing mainly primary medical care. Also every two weeks for the next several months, ten physicians and healthcare workers from around the country will be rotating through the region.

PH: From talking to the Yale group on the ground now, what are the main public health challenges that the region is facing?

Ty: Initially, the sheer number of people that needed medical care was alarming and hard to manage. Right now most of the treatment of acute injuries is over, so we are focusing on dealing with the infections that are occurring and dealing with the psychological impact from the tragedy. Just today I got a request for tents - they need more than a thousand tents for the displaced people. Sanitation and housing are big issues, and we need to build infrastructure relating to water and sewage to prevent longer-term illnesses.

PH: How do you plan on dealing with the spread of water-borne illnesses from contaminated water?

Ty: From a public health standpoint, one major goal is to provide clean water and keep a clean sewage system to prevent outbreaks of cholera, tetanus, and other illnesses. I don’t think the water’s stagnant yet, so I don’t know if malaria will make such a big impact, but the sewage system has been completely disrupted, so water contamination is the main concern.

There are several kinds of water purification systems. You can use water purification tablets, but the problem is that they don’t really work in sedimented water. They get rid of bacteria and temporally solve an immediate problem, but beyond that, you need more comprehensive water purification systems. There are personal water purification systems available like Britas – they filter the water through a charcoal filter that removes biological contaminants. That kind of system is good for just one or two people, but for a larger community, the systems are rather expensive. There’s a nonprofit organization called the International Water Mission that is dedicated to providing water to larger communities. It makes much larger water purification systems that can be used for an entire community.