| TO THE EDITOR—Recently, on 11 August
2012, in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran,
twin earthquakes, both measuring
higher than 6 on the Richter scale, led to
the death of 300 individuals and thousands
more injured. Immediate rescue
measures were taken, and all the survivors
were placed in temporary shelters
(tents) provided by the rescue teams.
The primary shock has abated; however,
both the survivors and unaffected persons
living in the neighboring areas are
exposed to incalculable health threats,
among which public hygiene concerns
are of utmost importance and require
prompt measures to be implemented.
Great emphasis should be placed on the
risk of an outbreak of vector-borne diseases:
(1) gastrointestinal infectious diseases
caused by unhealthy drinking water
or food consumption [1]; (2) respiratory
tract infections in the cold climate [2]; (3)
zoonotic diseases stemming from carcasses
of dead animals |