Many areas become a big mess after the floods (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The Department ofPreventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health warned yesterday that floodingand rains in central and northern provinces could trigger disease outbreaks.
According to the department, the heavyrains and floods that hit the country last week arrived at the peak time seasonfor diseases such as dengue fever, malaria, typhoid and the flu.
Garbage and waste overflow, borne along byfloodwaters, cause pollution and diseases.
To prevent diseases during the rainyseason, people need to observe best practices for food safety and wash handswith soap before and after processing food and going to the toilet.
People should wash daily, use mosquito netseven in daylight and wash and dry feet after walking in floodwaters or othercontaminated water.
People are also advised to kill larva andmosquitoes by covering water containers and wells and using chemicals tosterilise domestic water after floods recede.
The Ministry of Health issued a letterasking health departments in northern and central provinces to carry outdisease surveillance by sending mobile teams to flood-hit areas.
Additionally, the sector must providechemicals for each household to disinfect water sources. Local health officialsshould be particularly vigilant about diseases such as diarrhea, pink eye,influenza, cholera, dysentery and typhoid. Residents in flood-hit areas shouldalso eat boiled food and water.
The Preventive Medicine Department alsosaid that local officials should provide information about diseases andpreventive measures to people living in affected areas.
Northern Hoa Binh province, which was badlyaffected by the flood and rains for last days, has sent teams to districts andcommunes to inspect environmental and hygiene conditions.
The provincial preventive medicinedepartment readied quarantine measures to address potential disease outbreaksin affected areas in Tan Lac and Da Bac districts.
The province’s 21 clinics were badlyaffected by the flood. The Ministry of Health gave the province 2,000lifebuoys, 200 life jackets and 250,000 cloramine B tablets (chemicalsterilisation).
Yesterday, head of Natural DisasterPreparedness Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, NguyenDuc Quang, asked flood-hit provinces and cities to double down on efforts torescue injured people and search for the missing.
Additionally, the local authorities mustregularly check residential areas at risk of landslide in order to makeevacuation plans in time.
Inspections of dikes, dams, reservoirs andtransport systems must be undertaken to cope with future floods and storms,said Quang.
As of yesterday, the floods in central andnorthern provinces have killed 75 people and injured 38 others. Twenty-eightpeople remain missing.
Nearly 250 houses collapsed and more than2,000 households were evacuated. Nearly 15,000 heads of cattle and poultry werekilled in the floods.-VNA
VNA
