The Aral Sea in the Soviet Union, Essay Example

The Aral Sea in the Soviet Union was once the fourth largest lake in the world.  Since 1960, the lake has dropped almost 13 meters and decreased in area by 40 percent. The loss of water and area result from a reduction of inflow caused from the withdrawal of water for irrigation purposes.  In the process, severe and detrimental problems have occurred.  Human interactions have been a major cause to the widespread of ecological, social and economic problems associated with the Aral recession, such as bottom exposure and salt and dust storms, decrease in biological productivity, deterioration of ecosystems, and water supply and health concerns.  The Aral Sea contained high percentages of salt compounds, and as the sea began to shrink, the salt accumulated on the bottom floor, as well as deposition of salts on the beaches.  These salts are toxic to vegetation, resulting in the resistance of vegetation.  In addition, the accumulation of salt has also resulted in the major salt and dust storms from wind.  (Micklin, 1988)

The loss of biological productivity has also been observed in the Aral Sea as well.  As the sea began to shrink, and as salinity increased with the accumulation of salt compounds, the biological productivity decreased.  In fact, most of the native fish species completely disappeared.  In addition, the commercial fishing in the area has resulted in high toxicity from pesticides and herbicides from irrigation runoff.  In order to increase cotton production in the area, a large amount of pesticides were used, such as organochlorines dichlorodiphenyl-trichloroethans (DDTs), Toxphene, and hexachloro-cyclohexane (HCH).  Although the DDTs were banned during the 1970s, they can persist in the environment and causes harm to organisms. (Whish-Wilson, 2002)  Along with the decreased biological productivity, the ecosystem also illustrated a decrease.  The species diversity in the deltas along the Sea was one high providing the communities with economic greatness of commercial fishing and harvesting.  The deltas have currently deteriorated and recessed.  The number of native plant communities has also disappeared.  (Micklin, 1988)

With the deterioration of the physical properties of the Aral Sea, the biological and ecological components have drastically diminished.  The result of these factors has led to major health concerns from pollution.  The reduced flow of rivers from the Aral Sea, the increase in salinity and pollution has caused problems with the drinking water supply in the surrounding communities in this area.  The problems are more pronounced in the areas that are more populated.  There have been many health problems, especially amongst children, such as intestinal illnesses and throat cancer.  In addition, there has been devastation to the desert animals that have been drinking from the Aral Sea water supply.  With this knowledge, there has been increasing concern of major epidemics due to the deterioration of the water quality. (Micklin, 1988)

The health status of the population of individuals associated with the Aral Sea decreased along with the decline of the Aral Sea.  For one, the infant mortality rates increased from 25 per 1000 live births in the 1950s to 70-100 per 1000 in the 1990s.  In addition, there was an increase in low birth weights, growth retardation, psychological problems and delayed puberty.  Furthermore, from the infant deaths, acute respiratory disease and diarrheal diseases were the top two cause of infant mortality.  (Whish-Wilson, 2002)  Not only was there an increase in infant mortality, but the incidence of disease was also increasing.  There have been outbreaks of typhoid fever, hepatitis A, and diarrhea disease in this area, as well as tuberculosis and respiration infections.  In addition, liver and kidney disease and liver and esophagus cancer have become more prevalent in this area.  The most prevalent disease in the region is tuberculosis (TB).  TB infection rates are said to be between 250 to almost 400 individuals out of 100,000 people.  Most people are resistant to the drugs that are used to fight TB infection.  In addition, in the cultural of the Aral Sea, TB is thought of a poverty ridden disease and these individuals are ousted from jobs.  (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cross Crescent Societies)

The Doctors Without Borders/Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has put dedication to helping with the dramatic increase in people infected with TB in the Aral Sea region. The cause for the spread of the disease is the widespread poverty conditions, decrease in the healthcare system, and conditions at the medical institutions. The Doctors Without Borders have spread out in this region in order to help fight the disease; however, the people in that area are in need of medication, treatment and medical equipment.  The goal of the Doctors Without Borders is to increase the ability of the local healthcare workers.  This meaning to train the medical staff and educate the local population as well.  Despite these efforts, there is a need for financial help in order to prevent the spreading of the TB epidemic in Aral Sea region.  (Dubrovskaya, 2002)

The increase in TB rates in the Aral Sea region became increasingly apparent to me through my work as a medical interpreter for the Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Project through the Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres. Translating the scientific knowledge of data, in which the doctors would describe, not only taught me about this disease, but peaked my interest in epidemiology, especially in regard to the Aral Sea region, my hometown.  I began taking college courses Prevention of Communicable and Non-communicablediseases, Public Healthadvocacy and Leadership, Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Emergency Preparedness, and Epidemiology in Public Health.  As my knowledge in the field of Epidemiology increased, my interest in working towards advocating for the need for medical attention to the Aral Sea community also increased.

My goal is to continue my education in the Epidemiology field and focus on the variations in the drug-resistant patterns observed in TB patients in this area.  In addition, I want to investigate the cultural and psycho-social differences that are contributing to the high incidence of drug resistant TB and explore tools that can help support treatment for patients with TB.  The change in the environment of the Aral Sea has led to major environmental and health problems for the ecosystem in the Aral Sea.  Therefore, in order for my goals to become reality, I must acquire additional research skills, such as field work, counseling and help educating the public on the environmental concerns and measures of prevention for the deterioration of the Aral Sea.  These learned and experienced skills will help me understand the type of programs that should be implemented in order to help treatment for those individuals infected with TB as I finish my education requirements.  These skills will also provide insight to the type of funding and that is required in order to help increase the quality of life, both environmental and biological in the Aral Sea Region.

References

Dubrovskaya, E. (2002).  International Doctors Battle Drying Sea in Uzbek Epidemic. Web.  http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/publications/article.cfm?id=1398.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cross Crescent Societies.

Environmental disaster: Linking partners to tuberculosis prevention around the Aral Sea.  http://www.ifrc.org/Global/Case%20studies/Disasters/cs-aralsea.pdf.

Micklin, P. P. 1988. Desiccation of the Aral Sea: A water management disaster in the Soviet Union. Science 241: 1170-76.

Whish-Wilson, P.  (2002).  The Aral Sea environmental health crisis.  Journal of Rural and Remote Environmental Health 1(2): 29-34.http://www.jcu.edu.au/jrtph/vol/v01whish.pdf