Proactively prevent and control epidemics

(Baonghean) - In the face of the epidemic situation in the last months of 2012 and the first months of 2013 with many potential outbreak risks, our province is directing the health sector, related departments and localities to increase their proactiveness in prevention and control work - especially promoting propaganda work so that all people can participate.

In late August and early September 2012, dengue fever broke out in Quynh Lien commune (Quynh Luu) with more than 50 infected people. Wherever you go, you hear people complaining about the dense presence of Aedes mosquitoes, disrupting people's lives. Mr. Nguyen Van Ly, a resident of hamlet 4, said: "There are too many mosquitoes from early morning to late afternoon, we have to close the doors to prevent mosquitoes from entering the house, even when eating we have to sit under a mosquito net"... It is worth mentioning that this is not the first time, in 2009 and 2010, Quynh Lien had a dengue fever outbreak. The results of epidemiological investigation and monitoring of the source of infection showed that: The mosquito that transmits the disease here is Ades agypti, 90% of the houses have mosquitoes and the mosquito density index is 3 mosquitoes per house; 36% of the houses have larvae, the larvae nests are concentrated in discarded water containers, broken tires, and jars. These things show that the locality’s environmental sanitation and disease prevention work is not good. Only when the epidemic is detected, the locality implements propaganda and mobilization work to mobilize people to focus on environmental sanitation, unclogging sewers, overturning unused water containers, releasing fish into wells to kill mosquito larvae, and putting salt and oil into damaged tires.



Treat mosquito nets with chemicals to prevent malaria.

Reality has shown that the most effective solution in disease prevention can only be for the government and people to be proactive, raise their sense of responsibility, and join in. Fully aware of this, since the beginning of the year, thanks to the active and proactive work in disease prevention, the disease in Tuong Duong district has been controlled and significantly reduced. The disease prevention plan has been advised by the District Health Center to the District People's Committee to develop and promulgate, disseminated to all communes and village health centers, thereby propagating to the people. The national target programs have been well implemented by the District Health Center; 95% of children have been vaccinated against disease; 99.9% of blankets and mosquito nets have been treated with chemicals to prevent mosquitoes. Mr. Pham Quoc Duong - Director of Tuong Duong District Medical Center said: To prevent and control malaria, especially in border communes, in 2012, the Medical Center has treated nearly 500 liters of chemicals for all the mosquito nets that people have; at the same time, training courses were opened for all medical staff in villages to improve knowledge on early detection of cases for treatment. In villages, when fever or suspected malaria is detected, early treatment drugs are provided right from the start.

Thanks to proactively dealing with epidemics, in the first 9 months of 2012, our province had no major epidemics, only minor epidemics such as dengue fever and some infectious diseases such as hand, foot and mouth disease and diarrhea. According to the assessment of the health sector, the proactive monitoring and prevention of basic epidemics in the past 9 months has been implemented synchronously and effectively at all levels, contributing to preventing and suppressing epidemics and preventing them from spreading widely. Doctor Bui Dinh Long, Director of Nghe An Department of Health, affirmed: “In the first 9 months of 2012, thanks to good coordination, disease control was ensured. In the last 3 months of 2012, the epidemic situation is forecasted to still have many risks. The health sector has set the following goals: Detect over 80% of epidemics; 100% of detected epidemics are handled promptly, especially dangerous epidemics, newly emerging diseases such as Influenza A H5N1, Hand - foot - mouth disease, cholera, dengue fever; Reduce the incidence and mortality of infectious diseases causing epidemics, diseases in the expanded immunization program. The measures being focused on are propaganda and education of community health, strengthening socialization of epidemic prevention; Strengthening professional training for village and commune nurses, improving the level of monitoring and handling epidemics of preventive health workers at all levels”.

On October 11, in Tuong Duong district, Nghe An Department of Health, Nghe An Global Malaria Fund Management Board and Xieng Khouang Provincial Department of Health (Laos) organized a Malaria Prevention Workshop between Nghe An and Xieng Khouang provinces. The conference discussed solutions, promoted the responsibility and initiative of local authorities and medical units... The online conference of the Ministry of Health "Strengthening epidemic prevention in the last 3 months of 2012 and the 2013 epidemic prevention plan" was held on October 20, 2012, with Nghe An attending, with representatives of departments, branches, 20 districts, cities, towns and medical units in the province. At the conference, the province thoroughly grasped the spirit of proactively developing epidemic prevention plans for units. Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Xuan Duong pointed out that the risk of epidemics in the province is very high, due to the characteristics of a large population, large area and being an important traffic hub, with a large volume of goods and passengers passing through; requiring local authorities and sectors to strengthen propaganda to raise people's awareness of disease prevention, the proactiveness of the health sector in dealing with epidemics, early detection, identification and suppression of epidemics, and effective treatment of diseases...

Thanh Chung