Despite all the political noise these days, the machines of the central and regional administration are well oiled and working together to recover the areas affected by DANA, which devastated part of the province of Valencia two weeks ago and made more than 200 dead.
Good proof of this is the understanding of public health services, which quickly developed and implemented a system for detecting possible health problems generated by the consequences of torrential rains.
The Health Alerts and Emergencies Coordination Center of the Ministry of Health, the National Epidemiology and Microbiology Centers (belonging to the Carlos III Health Institute), the Military Emergency Unit and the Microbiology Service of the Ministry of Health also participated in general protocols. University Hospital of Valencia.
In addition, they benefit from the advice of a group of scientific societies coordinated by the public health specialist of Fisabio (Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of the Valencian Community). Salvador Peiro.
“The problems will persist for a while,” he tells EL ESPAÑOL. “Then they will become rare, but The health structures will take time to recover, it was very brutal“Wastewater treatment plants have been lost and it will take time to recover from this environmental disaster, the components of which affect human health.”
Water and mud from floods and floods, coupled with sewage collapse and deteriorating drinking water infrastructure, among others, increase the risk of a notable number of infections.
The routes of transmission are diverse: from food-water (gastroenteritis), to zoonosis (leptospirosis), respiratory (pneumonia) and other clinical conditions, from acute meningoencephalitis to fevers with rash skin.
Peiró highlights the need to carry out active surveillance of cases because, as a general rule, symptoms are not specific: fevers, headaches, muscle pain, etc.
“We have more gastroenteritis, but for the moment, it is not more than in other years at the same time,” he emphasizes. The two suspected cases of leptospirosis initially tested positive but were not, “they were treated and sent home”, reinforcing recommendations for animals and protective measures for people carrying out work. cleaning.
Each infection follows an individualized path. A monitoring report is prepared daily. Also, if you suspect it is an infection caused by DANA, the doctor will take samples (urine, blood, etc.) or refer the person to the hospital to do so from there.
Depending on the type of infection or outbreak, appropriate measures will be taken, such as contact tracing, vaccinating people in the environment and even “closing certain areas. This depends on the context and the way we think it happened.”
Wastewater and drinking water samples are also taken to detect the presence of pathogens such as Salmonella, E.coli and others. “A surveillance system needs to be put in place both for what you consider likely and for what is very unlikely, like cholera,” says Peiró.
Even if the recovery work is progressing at a forced pace, there are some clean areas and the drinking water has been recovered, the health professional warns that the danger has not yet passed.
“Sewage has contaminated drinking water. Even though most people have clean drinking water in their pipes, we still recommend drinking bottled water.. The samples indicate that everything is fine but in every house, apartment or neighborhood there may be grating diffractions.”
There are other risks. After the rains came a few days of mild temperatures which may have favored the reproduction of mosquitoes. “In Valencia there are normally no cases of diseases transmitted by these vectors, but they could occur: in Albufera there are birds that could be an outbreak”, since mosquitoes can transmit pathogens by stinging them, then humans.
For now, he emphasizes, treatments have been carried out with biocides and traps have been installed to monitor possible diseases that they could transmit.
However, Peiró points out that what we see most these days are injuries and fractures. “People trip, slip, injure their hands from spending too much time with the broom…“However, he is not worried about the threat of tetanus because there is a stock of vaccines and the coverage in Spain is very high.
“But if there is no evidence that the person has received a tetanus vaccine in the past five years, we recommend a booster dose.” Vaccines are also available in the event of a hepatitis A outbreak.
There is one aspect of health surveillance that they cannot address. “Those who are overwhelmed are the mental health teams, even if their numbers have increased.” This impact, he is sure, is one that will last in the long term.
