ICT Health Department issues guidelines to field staff

Islamabad

Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Health Department issued guidelines to its field staff here on Friday to take steps to prevent and control spread of waterborne infections including cholera, acute watery diarrhoea, hepatitis A and E, typhoid and amoebic dysentery along with other seasonal infections.

As a preparedness measure for prevention of waterborne diseases and putting up a rapid response to expected outbreaks of these infection in the current season and extreme summer, the ICT health department has planned to establish rapid response teams comprising of sanitary and malaria inspectors and lady health workers, says the order issued by the office of district health officer ICT on Friday.

The order says that proper sanitation, provision of safe drinking water and health education for improved hygiene and observance of safe food handling practices by the community plays a vital role in mitigating outbreaks and diminishing case fatality rates.

We have issued guidelines to our field staff to regularly add bleaching powder on weekly basis at sources to ensure provision of safe drinking water to public, said Additional District Health Officer at ICT Health Department Dr. Muhammad Najeeb Durrani while talking to ‘The News.’

He added that the field staff has been directed to educate public on using boiled water for drinking purposes, effectively washing vegetables and fruits before use, strictly observing hand hygiene with soap before eating meal and after going to toilet, avoiding dehydration in diarrhoea and taking ORS.

He said through the guidelines issued, the staff has been directed to chlorinate drinking water at source and to send a list of water wells, bores and drinking water major reservoirs in their catchment areas to the head office within a week.

The health department would monitor the outdoor activities by sanitary and malaria staff and indoor activities carried out by lady health workers through LHWs supervisors and Assistant District Coordinator National Programme, said Dr. Durrani.

He added that for compliance, the guidelines have also been issued to all medical officers/in-charges of healthcare facilities to closely monitor the situation and in case of increasing number of diarrhoea cases arriving from the same vicinity, mobilise all available human and material resources to offer a timely response to contain the disease.