Floods from Saturday’s record-setting rainfall in Manila ravaged at least four government hospitals in the nation’s capital, but all of them will remain open to serve the health needs of residents, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday. At least 26 patients from the intensive and critical care units of the Amang Rodriguez Medical Center in Marikina had to be transferred to other government hospitals in Quezon City in the wake of tropical storm “Ondoy," DOH Assistant Secretary for Special Concerns Elmer Punzalan said.
To prevent outbreaks of disease, Gepte advises the public to take the following precautions: * Boil or chlorinate water before drinking * Relief teams should provide safe water and properly prepared food * Sanitation, hygiene and cleanliness of evacuation centers and other areas where a large number of persons congregate must be ensured * Basic public health manners such as hand washing and sanitation must be emphasized despite the lack of water and other inconveniences of living in cramped spaces * Unless necessary, avoid wading in flood water and muddy waters to prevent fungal infection and other skin diseases * Observe appropriate cough manners and cover your nose and mouth when sneezing Half of its remaining 168 patients have since recovered from their illnesses, but have remained at the hospital because their houses have been damaged by the floods and they have nowhere to go, Punzalan said. “They cannot be discharged so we have to get extra provisions for them – food, water," he added. “Although Amang is also a victim of Ondoy, there will be no shutdown for the hospital." The hospital suffered a power outage and its first floor was submerged during the flood, but it continued attending to the patients with borrowed generators before electricity was eventually restored, Punzalan said. The basement of the East Avenue Medical Center, where its generators are located, was also flooded during the storm, as well as the laboratory section of the National Mental Hospital, according to DOH reports. The Tondo Medical Center was also badly damaged. Despite the devastation in four regions including metropolitan Manila, all 30 government hospitals in these areas were placed on “code blue" status that requires them to be fully staffed, as part of their preparedness during calamities or epidemics. “They have to comply because they are capable," Punzalan said. The last time the DOH imposed a “code blue" status was during the A(H1N1) epidemic last June, he added. The government maintains 80 hospitals nationwide. Task Force Ondoy of DOH held a meeting Tuesday to discuss ways of coping with the aftermath of the tropical storm, which dumped more than a month’s worth of rainfall in just eight hours last Saturday, breaking a record set 42 years ago. Among the most common medical complaints received during and after the storm were cases of drowning, cuts and bruises, broken bones, hypothermia, and respiratory infections, he said. “The DOH is on top of the situation. Our task is to provide health care and necessities when a calamity strikes.
Sanay na kami dyan," (We’re used to that) Punzalan said.
High risk for disease outbreaks “We have to count our blessings. ‘
Yung A(H1N1) hindi umaatake," the official added. “But we cannot discount the emergence of other diseases in congested situations." With thousands of evacuees in temporary evacuation centers, health officials have warned the public about potential diseases arising from poor sanitation, lack of toilets, and crowded conditions.
“There’s a high risk for an outbreak of food and waterborne diseases because of the lack of safe and potable water," said Dr. Troy T. D. Gepte, technical adviser of the World Health Organization (WHO) to DOH on communicable disease surveillance and response. He said the DOH has received reports of acute gastro-intestinal diseases, but could not release any statistics yet as the staff was still compiling the data. So far, there is no reported outbreak of cholera and typhoid fever in the evacuation centers and affected communities, he said. Since it is still rainy season, health officials are expecting the number of dengue cases to increase. “In the aftermath of Ondoy, the breeding sites might have been washed away, but new breeding sites might emerge in water containers and stagnant waters in evacuation centers and affected communities," he said. Other concerns are the expected rise of malaria cases in rural areas ravaged by the storm, especially in mountainous areas where the disease is endemic, and possible measles outbreaks. “Being a highly infectious and potentially fatal disease, measles might be expected to increase in very congested areas like evacuation centers where unvaccinated children might have been brought to and might have been in contact with persons already with measles," Gepte warned.
- GMANews.TV 
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