malaysiangMALASIQUI: The Department of Health (DOH) has placed all public health facilities in the Ilocos Region under a Code White status to respond to emergencies and provide immediate assistance and guidance in health emergency response situations amid the heavy rains brought by the southwest monsoon enhanced by Super Typhoon Carina.
A Code White alert status is hoisted for events or holidays with the potential to cause mass casualty incidents or emergencies. Selected medical personnel and staff are to promptly respond and provide treatment to patients arriving at hospitals, according to the DOH.
The status refers to the readiness of hospital manpower like general and orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, internists, operating room nurses, opthalmologists, and otorhinolaryngologists, to respond to any emergency situations.
Also during Code White, emergency service, nursing, and administrative personnel residing at the hospital dormitory shall be placed on an on-call status for immediate mobilization while the H
ealth Emergency Management Staff operations center will be on 24-hour duty on the said dates to monitor any health-related events.
The alert status was up since Wednesday (July 24) as the weather disturbance battered the region with heavy rainfall causing landslides, flashfloods, and flooding, among others.
Aside from possible emergencies amid the weather disturbance, the DOH also warned the public against water-borne diseases such as influenza, leptospirosis, and dengue since some parts of the region are experiencing flooding due to the continuous rains.
DOH Ilocos regional director Paula Paz Sydiongco, in a statement on Friday, said they have already prepositioned and distributed anti-water-borne diseases equipment and other medical supplies including insecticides, larvicides, insecticide-treated screens, dengue NS1 (nonstructural protein 1) rapid diagnostic tests, antigen and antibody tests, oral rehydration salt, paracetamol, and prophylactic antibiotics in all provincial DOH and provincial government
health offices and ready to be distributed to the local government units (LGUs).
She also advised the public to seek medical consultation first before taking prophylaxis against leptospirosis to get the right dose.
‘For the residents whose areas are flooded, refrain from soaking in the water or playing with flood waters because it is contaminated with different bacterial, viral, and parasitic organisms that might cause leptospirosos, influenza, and diarrhea among others,’ she said in Filipino, citing the importance of prevention and proper protection.
Sydiongco said that if it cannot be helped to wade into the flood waters, it is necessary to wear protective gears such as rubber boots and raincoat for protection against rain.
‘Do not forget to wash your hands and feet or take a bath upon after going into the flood waters,’ she said.
Sydiongco urged those experiencing symptoms like fever, body aches, chills, headache, loose bowel movement, among others, to immediately consult a doctor to prevent illnesses
.
‘Also, for those who are staying in evacuation centers to constantly wash their hands with soap and clean water to prevent the spread of diseases,’ she added.
DOH’s Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit recorded a total of 29 leptospirosis cases from Jan. 1 to June 29 this year.
In Pangasinan, the Provincial Health Office (PHO) is intensifying its health campaign following the rise in dengue cases in the province.
PHO chief Anna Ma. Teresa De Guzman said PHO has recorded 1,111 cases and eight deaths from Jan. 1 to July 22 this year, 20 percent higher than the 926 cases and five deaths recorded in the same period last year.
The eight reported deaths were traced in the towns of Lingayen, Sual, Binmaley, and San Carlos City.
The PHO is monitoring the provinces of Lingayen, which has the highest recorded dengue cases with 210; Bayambang with 85; Bugallon with 79; Urbiztondo with 75; San Carlos City with 71; Binmaley with 55; Mangatarem with 53; Labrador with 49; and Calasiao with 35 cases.
De Guzma
n said the PHO, together with the 14 provincial government-run hospitals, has further intensified its preparedness, prevention, mitigating measures, and health campaign, particularly on the 4S (Search and Destroy Mosquito Breeding Sites; Self-Protection Measures; Say No to Indiscriminate Fogging; and Seek Early Consultation).
Dengue insecticides were also provided for fogging and misting, she said.
The PHO has collected a total of 3,691 units of blood from its mobile blood donation activities and through walk-in voluntary donors in the 14 provincial government-run hospitals from Jan. 1 to July 24 this year.
Of the total number of blood units, 2,148 were from mobile blood donation drives and the 1,543 from walk-ins in the hospitals, she said.
‘Napapanahon na nagbibigay dugo ngayon kasi binabantayan ang epekto at kumplikasyon ng dengue (The blood donation drive is timely since we are monitoring the effects and complications of dengue),’ she said.
Source: Philippines News Agency
