Team effort catered to efficient health response to flood hit-regions

Jun 07, 2017 News

…few cases of skin infections, diarrhoeal cases contained

A multi-sectoral approach to tackling the recent flood situation in Regions Seven and Eight was the main factor that led to a satisfactory response. This is according to Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings.

Minister of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings

She is confident that the Public Health Ministry played its part well, with the support of other entities, to tackle the recent challenge.
Dr. Cummings noted that while there were various components to the response, getting things in place as it relates to the health aspect was in no way a major challenge since the Ministry was able to depend on the efforts of its Hinterland Coordinator.
The Ministry’s Hinterland Coordinator has responsibility for Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine and, according to Minister Cummings, “we worked assiduously with our Coordinator to get things going.”
Added to this, the Minister said that the Ministry was able to partner well with the Civil Defence Commission [CDC] and the regional bodies.
“We had our team on the ground as soon as it was possible. At first it wasn’t possible because the place was so flooded…it was impassable and there were makeshift shelters that the CDC was able to put in place,” recalled Minister Cummings.
According to the Public Health Minister, when the Ministry was eventually able to access the regions, “we got help from the Pan American Health Organisation [PAHO] and they spent about a week in there helping us to build capacity in the regions…It was well coordinated and there was full support.”
Further the Minister said that from the inception “we had enough drugs and other stuff in place and we worked appropriately and so we hadn’t any major hurdles to deal with.”
But according to Minister Cummings, her Ministry at no point lost sight of the possibility of health threats even though the response was efficient.
Indeed some health threats did surface. “We were thinking about infections and leptospirosis and skin infections too,” admitted Minister Cummings.
Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects humans and animals. It is caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira. In humans, it can cause a wide range of symptoms, some of which may be mistaken for other diseases. Some infected persons, however, may have no symptoms at all. Without treatment, Leptospirosis can lead to kidney damage, meningitis, that is inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord, liver failure, respiratory distress, and even death.
Minister Cummings informed that while there were no reported cases of leptospirosis, there were a few cases of skin infections in Region Eight. There were also reported diarrheal cases in that region too, the Minister said. There were no reported cases in Region Seven.
“With our medication and the sanitation efforts…we were able to contain those cases,” said Minister Cummings who pointed out that one of the key focus of the Ministry’s response was to have diligent sensitisation efforts. This included promoting the use of bleach in the cleaning process and also to ensure that precaution was taken to purify and secure drinking water and other consumables.
“I am very proud and happy how everybody came together…Everybody has to be commended for the part they played, all of our people at the central level and the regional level…everybody who helped deserve to be recognised for their contribution,” stressed Minister Cummings.

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