Environmental cleaning and infection control after flood have been boosted at homes, schools and public places for a week now by Khanh Hoa health sector in an effort to prevent health hazards and infectious disease risks resulting from flood...
Environmental cleaning and infection control after flood have been boosted at homes, schools and public places for a week now by Khanh Hoa health sector in an effort to prevent health hazards and infectious disease risks resulting from flood.
Cleaning and purification after flood
The house of a resident named Le Huu Tuong, Dac Loc 1 Village, Vinh Phuong Commune, Nha Trang City was deluged by flood water in late November and early December. When the floodwater receded, the commune Medical Station together with village officials came to his house to help with cleaning and disinfecting flooded wells
. The purification was repeated 1 month after that.
“In the last flood, my house was nearly 1m flooded with trash along. Under the guidance of the village and commune medical stations, we tidied our house immediately after the flood. The well water purification has been done by health officials to ensure it is safe for use,” the man said.
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28/28 water wells have been treated and purified with Cloramin B under the instruction of the city Medical Center, all local medical station have cooperated with local authorities have taken disease prevention measures. Surveys conducted by Nha Trang City Medical Center have shown that emergency water purification after the flooding has been done in all localities. Truong Tri Cuong, Deputy Chief of the Department of Public Health & Nutrition, Nha Trang City Medical Center says since the beginning of the year, Nha Trang City Medical Center has supplied and distributed 70kg of Cloramin B and 15 kits of medicines for flood relief. The center is making suggestion to Khanh Hoa Center for Disease Control to supply communities with 10,000 tablets of Cloramin B and powder for use when needed for pandemic prevention and control.
Besides the treatment and purification of water wells and other water containers under the guidance of the Ministry of Health, communities have also cooperated with local authorities to collect dead animals; spray pesticide and conduct health monitoring in all communities to prevent common diseases after flooding such as pink eyes, skin diseases, dengue; hand, foot & mouth disease, etc. Dangerous infectious diseases have been put under control with infection cases on the decrease. Specifically, in the first week of December, 468 new cases of dengue were reported, down by 35%; 31 cases of hand, foot & mouth disease; down by half, compared with the figure in the last week of November.
Continued medical monitoring
Since the beginning of the year, Khanh Hoa Center for Disease Control has supplied communities with chemicals, materials and medicines in response to the flooding. After the natural disaster, the center has continued distributing essential materials and medicines based on actual needs; and monitor environmental treatment to prevent diseases. Thanks to the effort of local authorities, departments and agencies, environmental infection control has been assured with no disease outbreak reported in the province after the flood so far, according to Huynh Van Dong, Director of Khanh Hoa Center for Disease Control.
With the unusual occurrence of some infectious diseases together with rainy days forecast to continue in Khanh Hoa in the coming time, the provincial health sector is strengthening medical supervision and insecticide spraying in flooded area as soon as floodwater recedes; and boost propaganda to raise public awareness of disease prevention and control.
C.Dan
Translated by N.T
