The North of Vietnam has just experienced storm No. 3 with heavy damage, power outages, water loss, and a high risk of disease outbreaks in the flood season, threatening public health. Therefore, proactive prevention and implementing safety measures are key to protecting your health and people around. In the October health newsletter, with Insmart we learn about common infectious diseases and notes on disease prevention after storms and floods.

I.Updated health information: Risk of epidemics after the rainy season and proactive measures to prevent epidemics

1. The risk of a large-scale outbreak after storms and floods

After the heavy rains and storms across the country, widespread flooding has severely impacted the lives of the people. Particularly, Northern and North Central mountainous provinces have suffered significant losses in terms of both human lives and property. Many houses have been swept away, infrastructure has been severely damaged, and people are facing numerous difficulties in dealing with the aftermath.

According to medical experts, experience shows that Infectious disease epidemics often follow storms and floods. The recent long rain and flood, the environment in many places is heavily polluted by domestic and industrial waste, rotting animal and plant waste, posing a potential risk of disease, especially for people with weak resistance such as the elderly, children, people with chronic diseases.

The main cause of disease outbreaks is easily after floods:

• Water pollution: Wastewater treatment works and wastewater drainage systems are destroyed, causing feces, garbage, and residual wastewater from toilets, sewer systems, and livestock barns to spill directly into the environment. Trees and crops die because they are soaked in water for a long time; The corpses of some animals, livestock and poultry give rise to diseases for humans and neighboring livestock and poultry.
• Breeding of mosquitoes and insects: Humid, rainy environments are favorable conditions for viruses, molds, and disease-carrying organisms such as mosquitoes to grow and cause infectious diseases.
• Living conditions are not guaranteed: Damaged houses and infrastructure, degraded sanitary conditions.
• Lack of clean water and safe food: Difficulty accessing clean water and hygienic food in an emergency, unable to cook, eat cooked food or drink boiled water.
• The weather changes erratically: Humid weather and heavy rain cause the body to not have time to adapt, easily leading to highly infectious respiratory diseases, easily causing epidemics.

Faced with the risk of epidemics after floods, disease prevention during this period is necessary to help protect public health and prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases.

2. Types of epidemics go now after the rainy season

During and after storms and floods, we are susceptible to the following common diseases:

• Diseases transmitted through the digestive tract: Acute diarrhea, cholera, bacillary dysentery, amoebic dysentery, typhoid, infections caused by E.coli, hepatitis A virus.

The cause is that domestic water sources, drinking water sources, and food sources are contaminated by disease-causing microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa).

• Common skin diseases such as: Fungus between feet and hands, inflammation of pores, ringworm, tinea versicolor, scabies, pimples. In addition, people in flooded areas can suffer from several dangerous infectious diseases transmitted through skin and mucous membranes such as Whitmore disease, Leptospira disease, and Vibrio vulnificus disease.

The cause is dirty water, contaminated with disease-causing microorganisms and fungi; Because people in flooded areas often must soak their hands and feet in dirty water for a long time, due to damp living conditions.

• Eye diseases: pink eye, blepharitis, lacrimal gland inflammation, due to polluted living environment and drinking water sources.
• Respiratory diseases: Colds, flu, sore throat, respiratory infections. More severe symptoms include high fever, prolonged fever, chills and sweating, and severe fatigue.

The main cause is cold due to prolonged immersion in water, lack of clothes and blankets; Houses are not airtight, and people even must move to crowded, unsanitary places.

• Diseases transmitted by mosquitoes: The most common disease is dengue fever, because the post-flood environment is a very favorable condition for disease-causing mosquitoes to reproduce and develop. Temporary accommodation, sleeping and living conditions are not guaranteed.

3. Consequences if disease is not prevented effectively

• Long-term health effects: Diseases such as diarrhea, malaria, dengue fever or respiratory infections can have long-term consequences if not treated promptly and properly.
• Increases the risk of large-scale disease spread: If disease prevention is not effective, many diseases can appear at the same time, causing rapid spread in the community.

 4. Proactive measures to prevent epidemics after the rainy season

To prevent and combat common diseases during the rainy and stormy season, the Health sector recommends that people take measures to ensure personal hygiene, environmental hygiene, focus on food safety, and improve resistance. of the body.

• Practice food hygiene: “Eat cooked, drink cooked”, all food and drinks need to be boiled before eating; water used for drinking and food processing must ensure hygiene.
• Regularly wash your hands with soap before and after preparing food, before eating and after using the toilet.
• Be sure to store food well to avoid moisture, mold, termites and flooding. Store processed foods well, prevent insects, disease-causing animals and flies from entering.
• Kill larvae/larvae, kill mosquitoes by covering water containers, placing fish in large water containers, removing waste such as bottles, jars, car tires… or water leaks. naturally prevents mosquitoes from laying eggs.
• Treat drinking and domestic water in flood and post-flood situations by filtering, disinfecting with Chloramine T or B and boiling before drinking according to local health instructions. direction
• Absolutely do not use sick or unexplained dead livestock, poultry, or aquatic products for food processing.
• Always keep your body warm, especially the elderly and children; Eat a nutritious diet, supplement vitamins and minerals.
• Implement the principle of cleaning the environment wherever the water drains, organizing collection, treatment, and burial of animal carcasses. Use lime powder or chemicals recommended by the Ministry of Health for burial treatment. Spray chemicals to kill disease-carrying insects in at-risk areas.
• Avoid swimming in stagnant dirty water. If you must wade into dirty water, immediately rinse with clean water and dry, especially between fingers and toes.
• Use a mosquito net when going to bed, even during the day.
• When there are signs of suspected infection, you should go for examination and treatment at the nearest medical facility.

Reference: thanhtra.com.vn; tuoitre.vn & baochinhphu.vn

   II.                Service introduction: PreA – Insmart’s Pre_Authorization Direct Billing service

Insmart is the first TPA unit in Vietnam to introduce to the Vietnamese Insurance market “Pre_Authorization Direct Billing service – PreA”, applicable to customers undergoing Inpatient and Maternity treatment.

With PreA, Insmart will issue a Direct Billing Service Letter to the Customer before the time of hospitalization, based on the Customer’s previous treatment requirements and the insurance program the customer participates in. Insmart will, on behalf of the Insurance Company, confirm to the Medical Providers (part of the guaranteed network) the expected cost items for treatment, creating readiness and convenience for customers when hospitalized.

Using our Pre-A service, you will receive the following benefits:

• Customers are clearly explained about insurance benefits as well as expected covered medical expenses before hospitalization.
• Hospitalization procedures are quick because insurance benefits have been confirmed before admission with the medical facility
• No deposit is required or the deposit value is lower than the difference outside the insurance scope
• You can choose a medical facility that suits your insurance benefits
• The online service registration process is quick and easy

Priority is given to choosing insurance programs managed by Insmart that apply the Pre-A to experience the most superior service amenities!

To find out more information about the services that Insmart is providing, please contact e-mail: mkt@insmart.com.vn

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