On issues such as infectious diseases that may be caused by floods, the restoration of self-prepared wells in mountainous areas, and how to clean and sanitize after disaster victims return home, a reporter from the Beijing News interviewed Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
From July 29 to August 2, Beijing was hit by a historically heavy rainstorm that caused flooding in mountainous areas, and a large number of people were evacuated to resettlement sites to wait to return to their homes. Now that the heavy rainstorm has passed, post-disaster epidemic prevention has become one of the key tasks at this stage. On issues such as infectious diseases that may be caused by floods, the restoration of self-prepared wells in mountainous areas, and how to clean and sanitize after disaster victims return home, a reporter from the Beijing News interviewed Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
▲Data map: Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Photo by Li Kaixiang
- Intestinal infectious diseases are the focus of post-disaster epidemic prevention
Beijing News: How do floods pollute water bodies? Pang Xinghuo: Flood transit can flood houses and a series of infrastructure, of which the damage to the water supply system is often more serious; In some places, water outages, power outages, and traffic obstructions caused by the destruction of facilities have caused a large amount of garbage to accumulate and cannot be cleaned up in time, especially some toilets cannot function well, and feces are difficult to clean up in time, which may further cause water pollution.
Beijing News: In terms of infectious disease prevention, which diseases are most likely to occur? Pang Xinghuo: From the perspective of infectious diseases, the most risky water pollutants are pathogenic microorganisms, including dysentery, typhoid and other bacteria, and noroviruses and other viruses. Coupled with the destruction of living conditions after the disaster, and the hot and humid environment in summer, the risk of water and food contamination increases, and the multiplication of these microorganisms is very rapid, which can easily cause intestinal infectious diseases and foodborne diseases, of which infectious diarrhea is the most common. Summer is the season of high incidence of intestinal infectious diseases, and people love to eat raw and cold food in order to understand the summer, and the chance of infection is further increased. Therefore, the prevention of intestinal infectious diseases has become a focus of post-disaster epidemic prevention. During this period, it is not recommended that residents who have been severely affected eat raw and cold food, such as cold mixed food, and do not drink raw water, especially water that has not been clearly tested, so as not to be infected.
Beijing News: How is infectious disease surveillance carried out? Pang Xinghuo: The key to post-disaster epidemic prevention is to do a good job in infectious disease surveillance and deal with suspicious cases in a timely manner. Initially, we need to assess the current status of the public health surveillance network in the disaster area, determine whether it can operate normally, and if it has been restored, it can be monitored based on existing conditions; If the network system does not work, you can report it by telephone, fax, etc. The monitoring of intestinal infectious diseases is the most important, and the intestinal clinic is the top priority, and it is necessary to resume operation as soon as possible, and do a good job in diagnosis and treatment and reporting; For suspected associated cases, patients with the same symptoms should be screened around. These can be done through health facilities, temporary symptom monitoring points in resettlement sites. Patients with fever, diarrhea, vomiting, jaundice, rash, conjunctivitis and other symptoms should be monitored, and if more than three epidemially related cases are found during the consultation, they should be analyzed and treated in a timely manner, and reported as required.
▲Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention (the man in blue), carried out research in the areas affected by Beijing's exceptionally heavy rainstorm. Photo courtesy of Beijing CDC
-- Self-prepared wells should be checked one by one The water from mountain springs is cool on the outside, and it is not recommended to drink it
Beijing News: There are a large number of self-prepared wells in mountainous areas, how damaged are they? How long will it take to resume use?
Pang Xinghuo: Most of the areas that were more seriously affected this time are located in mountainous areas, such as Fangshan and Mentougou, while most of the rural areas in mountainous areas are supplied by self-provided wells, because they are flooded and irrigated, the water supply and pipe network facilities of self-prepared wells are seriously damaged, the water quality is polluted, it takes time to recover, and some are even completely damaged, and we must find a new source of water.
At present, the water department is inspecting the self-provided wells in the affected areas one by one, first of all, it is necessary to find out the damage, and evaluate, repair, clean, disinfect and test according to the degree. The contaminated well must first clean all the sludge, then clean it with clean water, and when the natural water level returns, take measures such as chlorine disinfection to disinfect, and then carry out laboratory tests, and only after passing the test can the normal supply be restored.
At present, due to traffic congestion and limited manpower and material resources in mountainous areas, the difficulty of repairing wells has increased, and in order to ensure water, the government has increased its emergency repair efforts, hoping to restore it as soon as possible. During this period, the above-mentioned areas will ensure temporary water demand through temporary water supply and bottled water.
Beijing News: If the well water and spring water in the disaster area seem to be clear again, can you drink it directly?
Pang Xinghuo: Recently, we went to a village and town, because the self-prepared well was broken, and the villagers drank spring water that looked clean, and as a result, some people had diarrhea, which cannot be ruled out to be due to the unclean water source. We still recommend that even if the water looks clear, but after all, it has been polluted by floods, there may be other substances in the water body, temporarily used to clean the toilet, etc. are okay, if you want to drink, it is not recommended, you need to wait for the disinfection assessment to pass the drink before drinking.
▲ In Mentougou District, Beijing, Pang Xinghuo guided the post-disaster epidemic prevention work at a resettlement site in Junzhuang Town. Photo courtesy of Beijing CDC
After returning home, thoroughly ventilate the food in the refrigerator and do not be reluctant to throw away the food
Beijing News: At present, a large number of residents are temporarily living in resettlement sites, what links need to be paid attention to after returning home? How is the house disinfected?
Pang Xinghuo: Some residents living in temporary resettlement sites want to go home to clean up, or they want to go back when the road is open. Residents must pay attention to several links after returning home:
First of all, after returning home, all doors and windows should be opened, thoroughly ventilated, and then a comprehensive clean-up, including removing silt, garbage, dirt, and stagnant water, which are easy to breed pathogens; Flood-soaked areas and items are disinfected if necessary. For the walls, floors, items and other points, we have distributed publicity materials with relevant guidance and suggestions to various places, and which disinfectants to use and how to mix them are introduced above for your reference. In addition, it is not necessary to disinfect all areas, just disinfect the contaminated areas.
Some damp clothes and bedding should be exposed to the outdoor sun after washing; The refrigerator at home may be broken due to a long-term power outage, and you must be willing to discard it, otherwise it is easy to get sick if you eat it; Water-soaked food, vegetables, bottled water, etc. in the room are not recommended.
Clean up the room and surrounding environment, ventilate it, and then move in, and residents should also protect themselves, wear gloves and wash their hands during the cleaning period.
Beijing News: If residents in the disaster area have diarrhea and other symptoms, how should they seek medical treatment? What should I tell my doctor?
Pang Xinghuo: Self-health monitoring of residents in disaster areas is very important, once there is physical discomfort, especially fever, diarrhea, vomiting and other symptoms, do not endure, seek medical attention in time, find the nearest medical institution to seek medical treatment according to symptoms, or you can seek help from a visiting doctor. During treatment, tell the doctor your contact history, travel history, and diet to help the doctor determine whether it is an infectious disease.
Now is a special period, we must do a good job of self-health monitoring, because after the disaster, the body's immunity declines, the living environment changes, the sanitary conditions are affected, eating and washing hands are not as convenient as before, and it is summer, it is more likely to be infected with intestinal infectious diseases. Recently, we should pay more attention to hygiene habits than usual, work and rest regularly, don't let yourself be too tired, and protect your personal health. Let's work together to tide over the difficulties and welcome a better new life in the future!
Source: Beijing News
Editor: Liu Yiyue