Few Good Tips And Precautions On Post Flood Recovery
POST FLOOD RECOVERY:
ALERT:
Limit contact with flood water.
Flood water may have high levels of raw sewage or other hazardous substances. Early symptoms from exposure to contaminated flood water may include upset stomach, intestinal problems, headache and other flu-like discomfort. Anyone experiencing these and any other problems should immediately seek medical attention.
Mold
Mold can cause serious health problems. The key to mold control is moisture control. After the flood, remove standing water and dry indoor areas. Remove and discard anything that has been wet for more than 24-48 hours.
Alert: Boil Drinking Water
If your water may not be safe, bring drinking water to a rolling boil for 1 minute to kill water-borne diseases. Drink mineral water or clean drinking water available m instead.
Children and older adults:
Be sure children are protected from chemicals and diseases in flood water. Behavior such as crawling or placing objects in their mouths can increase a child's risk of exposure and sickness.
Disaster debris :
Disposal problems can result from large amounts of debris but also from hazardous or toxic substances in the debris that can contaminate air, water, land, and food if not handled properly. Burning large amounts of debris to reduce volume may not be an option.
Post Flood Diseases:
Post-flood diseases are a number of diseases that see an increased incidence following flooding. In general, they can be categorized into three groups based on their distribution,. A range of diseases can occur and are classified into the three following groups:
1. Food- and water-borne disease or fecal-oral transmitted disease includes a number of infections such as cholera, dysentery, rotavirus and typhoid fever. Patients who have a gastrointestinal infection may experience vomiting and diarrhea (stomach flu) or bloody stools.
2. Mosquito-borne disease or a disease spread by a vector or carrier includes dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), which is transmitted through the bite of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
3. Rat-borne disease, or that transmitted through rats, is another common occurrence after flooding. One of the rodent-borne diseases that can occur is leptospirosis, which is carried and spread through the urine and stool of rats in floodwater. If someone has an open wound on their hands or feet, or oral mucus, the water that has been contaminated by rat urine containing leptospirosis can cause the transmission of the infection. Patients with leptospirosis show symptoms of sudden high fever, headaches, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, muscle pains, especially in the calf area, red eyes and a yellowing of the whites of the eyes and skin. Their urine also becomes a dark color, like tea. At a glance, these patients show similar signs to those suffering from hepatitis. Leptospirosis is a very serious disease and if it continues to occur, it can result in numerous complications such as kidney damage and inflammation of the pancreas, liver, lungs and brain.
Health problems caused by floods occur primarily due to the host, the environment and agents. The first regards the massive evacuations of residents, with the risk of inadequate cleanliness and insufficient food and water for the evacuees, which will affect their immune responses. Moreover, most evacuees sleep on the floor with inappropriate bedding. Such conditions increase their vulnerability to post-flood diseases. Bad weather may also reduce one’s immune response although he/she may not be directly affected by the flood. The second, environmental factor that may aggravate the situation for evacuees is the continuous rainfall and strong winds to which infants and the elderly are particularly vulnerable. Not to mention the polluted environment around the floods with piles of garbage everywhere. The third is bacterial factors, the disease agents commonly found during flood disasters, including flies, rats, bacteria and dirt, causing the pollution of clean water.
Measures should be taken immediately to overcome post-flood diseases.
First, ensure you always eat and drink hygienic food and liquids. Pay attention to the expiration date on food items, both ready-to-eat meals and meals that you cook yourself. Try always to consume fresh food. Wash your hands using soap or antiseptic gel to prevent gastrointestinal infections.
Next, keep the environment clean and tidy up the location after a flood has passed by using antiseptic liquid, and put extra emphasis on protective clothing for anyone who cleans up the dirt after floods. Protective clothing may include masks, gloves and boots. Avoid causing wounds that could be entry points for microorganisms. For children and the elderly, provide them with multivitamin and mineral supplements if their diet is incomplete in nutrition, especially if their houses and environment are hit by floods. There should also be a stock of basic medicines, such as those for fever, diarrhea and headaches, as well as electrolyte solution (oralitTM). Of course, the goal of all of these measures is to prevent any of us from succumbing to post-flood diseases, which can occur at anytime.
Stay healthy!
Syndrom Jangkitan Coli
Saya akan terus memantau operasi bantuan banjir dari rumah. "PMOMalaysia: PM @NajibRazak terkena jangkitan E.Coli semasa lawat kwsn banji...
— Mohd Najib Tun Razak (@NajibRazak) January 5, 2015
Quote:
KUALA LUMPUR: Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, terkena jangkitan bakteria E.coli semasa melawat kawasan banjir baru-baru ini dan beliau dinasihatkan doktor supaya berehat, menurut kenyataan Twitter Pejabat Perdana Menteri (@PMOMalaysia) sebentar tadi.
"PM @NajibRazak terkena jangkitan E.coli semasa lawat kawasan banjir. Doktor nasihat supaya berehat. Beliau akan kembali bertugas secepat mungkin," menurutnya.
Bagaimanapun, Najib dalam tweetnya kemudian menyatakan beliau akan terus memantau operasi bantuan banjir walaupun sedang berehat di rumah.
"Saya akan terus memantau operasi bantuan banjir dari rumah...," katanya.
E.coli ialah kependekan kepada Escherichia coli, iaitu sejenis bakteria yang umum ditemui dalam usus organisma berdarah panas. Biarpun kebanyakan jenis E.coli tidak berbahaya, ada yang boleh menyebabkan keracunan makanan yang serius kepada manusia.
Sumber dari: Bharian
