ICT Health Department issues guidelines to field staff
Islamabad
The Islamabad Capital Territory Health Department has directed the field staff composed of sanitary inspectors and lady health workers to create awareness among public about prevention and control on water and vector borne diseases in the high transmission season that has already set in.
The field staff has been directed to closely monitor the situation to avoid any water born outbreaks, since the surveillance depends on the fact that epidemics are first recognized at the Rural Health Centre (RHC) and Basic Health Unit (BHU) level where the weekly number of cases in each area should be compared to baseline data derived from routine surveillance during previous months and years. The health facility staff should know the excess occurrence of any disease to take prompt action to stop the disease assuming the form of an epidemic.
Assistant District Health Officer at ICT health department Dr. Muhammad Najeeb Durrani expressed this while talking to ‘The News’ on steps being taken to avoid outbreaks of both water and vector borne diseases in summer.
He said the sanitary inspectors have been asked to take preventive and control measures to avoid outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis. They would work to ensure proper chlorination of drinking water at its source and at the storage tanks inside houses. They are asked to inspect and issue guidelines for any repair of the water distribution system required so that stagnant rain water mixed with sewage may not be sucked into the drinking water supply lines, said Dr. Durrani.
The steps are being taken to make public aware of the increased risk of gastroenteritis and the vital necessity is of early recognition and reporting of disease outbreaks. Community education plays an important role as the water borne diseases mainly result because of the consumption of contaminated water and the poor hygienic environment and conditions, he said.
He said that every year, from May to September we find huge number of people getting ill and landing in hospitals in this region of the country with complaints of vomiting, diarrhea and dysentery, commonly called as gastroenteritis.
He said in the high transmission season, the sanitary inspectors and other field staff has been asked to give advice to public on cleaning of water storage tanks. The sanitary inspectors have also been told to monitor vendors and visit ice factories for water samples.
He said majority of ice factories do not observe basic hygiene as they take raw tap water for making ice with multiple usages of human hands without precautions that leads to introduction of bacteria causing water contamination. This contaminated ice which is used only by vendors and poor community is always causing gastroenteritis outbreaks in these strata of population. For its control regular visits by the sanitary inspectors is mandatory to check the water quality they are making ice with, said Dr. Durrani.
Lady health workers are making door-to-door visits to check sanitation and guide community to ensure keeping a safe distance between wells and latrines to check fecal contamination of drinking water and ensuring that sewer pipes are intact and septic tanks are properly functioning with safe exits, he added.
He said the LHWs have been asked to educate women and children to observe hand hygiene, avoid sweet drinks from vendors and avoid taking water from open containers and use properly washed fruits and vegetable. If people in an area are getting sick with complaints of diarrhea, vomiting and dysentery, the workers need to timely report to the nearest health centre and the head office, he said.
In public mass events, festivals and gatherings like Urs at shrines, there is always a high risk of spread of water-borne diseases as portable water supply is not available in all types of gatherings and public toilets with constant supply of running water with provision of soap are not ensured, said Dr. Durrani. He added the participants in these gatherings are always at higher risk of contracting diseases like cholera, gastroenteritis, typhoid, hepatitis A & E, amoebic dysentery and like infections.
He said the only recommended internationally acclaimed protocol for prevention of many of these communicable diseases is Frequent Hand Washing as by observing good hand hygiene one can protect oneself from the said infections.
He added to avoid water-borne infections, the second most important measure is to avoid touching and dipping of human hand in drinking water reservoirs and water containers. This measure is extremely important but usually missed and cannot be ensured particularly in public gatherings. He said the field staff has been asked to educate public and the health department would display banners at public gatherings carrying instructions on how to avoid water borne diseases.
To a query, he said the solid waste also plays an important role as the rain water gets accumulated in the trash that attracts flies and mosquitoes to lay their eggs in large numbers. The solid waste needs to be disposed off quickly with the help of Union Council staff and sanitary inspectors would monitor the situation closely, said Dr. Durrani.