Actively prevent diseases caused by floods and rains

No interruption of medical examination and treatment activities

On the afternoon of September 29, Associate Professor, Dr. Duong Dinh Chinh, Director of Nghe An Department of Health said: "Responding tostorm number 4and circulation caused by the storm, before the storm made landfall, Nghe An Department of Health had specific instructions on prevention work as well as ensuring medical examination and treatment for people in stormy conditions.

Spraying poison and disinfecting flooded areas. Photo: Thanh Chung

Accordingly, the Department requires units to organize 24/7 emergency duty, be ready to receive and provide free emergency care to victims of floods; prepare medicines, chemicals, equipment and means to support localities in overcoming the consequences of floods.

For medical units in low-lying areas at risk of flooding, proactively evacuate to ensure patient safety and continue to carry out medical examination, treatment and emergency care for patients.

Mountainous district health centers direct commune health stations in areas at risk of landslides, flash floods, and flash floods to advise the commune People's Committees to prepare facilities, medicines, and human resources to be ready to mobilize to serve the people.

At this time, due to the influence of storm No. 4, from the morning of September 28, in many localities in Nghe An province, there was heavy rain causing isolation,flood… Some district-level medical facilities have also been affected due to degraded facilities.

Doctors come to examine people in disaster-hit areas. Photo courtesy of Thanh Chung

Faced with the risk of disease outbreaks in flooded areas, Nghe An Department of Health continues to direct units in the sector to: Quickly restore and repair damaged medical facilities, promptly receive and provide emergency care, and not interrupt medical examination and treatment for people.

Medical facilities advise and coordinate with local Party Committees, Governments, departments, and social organizations to effectively carry out environmental sanitation and disease prevention, in the spirit of "where the water recedes, the environment is cleaned up"; deploy solutions to prevent and control epidemics caused by floods; strengthen propaganda and mobilize people to clean up the environment, treat water for daily life, treat dead livestock and poultry, and sanitation works...".

Proactively prevent diseases caused by floods

According to the Nghe An Province Center for Disease Control: In flood conditions, the most common diseases are those related to the lack of clean water. At this time, people do not have enough clean water to use, so diseases related to environmental hygiene and food hygiene such as cholera, dysentery, typhoid, bacterial poisoning, bacterial contamination in food often appear and easily break out.

Instructions for people on how to treat domestic water during floods. Photo: Thanh Chung

These diseases are transmitted through the digestive tract; they can spread quickly and strongly due to poor hygiene conditions, uncontrolled sources of infection, and the development of intermediate disease-transmitting insects such as flies, mosquitoes, ants, and cockroaches.

Next are diseases related to environmental pollution, including skin diseases such as ringworm, nail fungus, dermatitis, ringworm, itchy skin rashes... Due to unsanitary conditions and humid weather, pink eye (viral conjunctivitis) also develops strongly.

Pink eye disease can easily become an epidemic due to the virus's strong ability to spread through the respiratory tract or contact with fluids such as tears and saliva of patients through direct contact, shaking hands, sharing personal items or water sources.

Most dangerously, diseases transmitted by insects and contact can easily break out, especially dengue fever... In addition, in areas isolated for a long time due to floods, there will be a number of other diseases related to the failure to meet food safety and clean water such as hepatitis A, malnutrition...

To prevent disease, everyone needs to practice good environmental hygiene after floods. Photo: Thanh Chung

Doctor Bui Tien Dung - Head of the Department of Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, Nghe An Province Center for Disease Control recommends: To proactively prevent and control epidemics caused by floods, people need to prepare food safely and hygienically, eat cooked food and boiled water; regularly wash hands with soap before and after preparing food, before eating and after going to the toilet; practice personal hygiene daily, wash feet and dry between toes after contact with flood water or contaminated water.

People need to pay attention to destroying larvae/wigglers, killing mosquitoes by covering tanks, water containers, putting fish in large water containers, removing waste such as bottles, jars, car tires... or natural water holes to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs; using mosquito nets when sleeping even during the day; washing water tanks, wells, water containers and using chemicals to disinfect drinking water and domestic water according to the instructions of medical staff; implementing the principle of cleaning as the water recedes, collecting, processing and burying animal carcasses according to the instructions of medical staff... When there are signs of suspected infection, it is necessary to go to the nearest medical facility for examination and treatment.