On 24th August, rumours have surfaced from the social media saying that “Health personnel reminds everyone to wear mask when going out from tomorrow. Bacteria are emerging; they develop from decomposing animal carcasses and rotten food…”. In response to these rumours, the Health Bureau clarifies that it did not made such or similar appeal to the public, and it expects everyone to stop disseminating misleading information to the public.
According to the Health Bureau, the major health risk associated with animal carcasses, rotten food and other types of garbage is the proliferation of disease vectors such as cockroaches and rats. These kinds of garbage are not direct cause of illness unless there is direct contact with wounds, or the food or drinking water is contaminated. The wearing of mask is primarily intended to prevent communicable diseases of the respiratory tract, such as influenza; it is not helpful in preventing health issues resulting from the accumulation of waste matters.
In order to reduce health risks associated with the accumulation of waste matters, personnel of the Health Bureau have approached the flood-affected areas to carry out emergent pest control and disinfection, and distribute information leaflets to the public. Meanwhile, the public are urged to adopt the following measures against infectious diseases:
- Maintain personal hygiene: Strictly practise hand hygiene before handling food, before eating and after going to the toilet. If hands are not visibly soiled, wipe hands with alcohol-based hand rub to substitute hand washing in the event of tight water supply. Cover the nose and mouth with handkerchief or tissue paper when coughing and sneezing.
- Drinking water from a reliable source: Drinking water must be collected from the public water supply network, a contingency water supply point or a water supply vehicle; do not use well water or stream water for consumption purpose because they are not guaranteed to be safe for drinking.
- Handle food carefully: As affected by flooding in low-lying areas and long periods of power outage, do not eat food that is drenched by contaminated water or stored under an inappropriate temperature for a long time. Observe food safety measures such as cooking food thoroughly before consumption.
- Observe environmental hygiene: Food or articles that have been corrupted or drenched must be disposed of promptly. Flats or apartments affected by flooding should be thoroughly cleaned and wiped with 1:99 diluted household bleach after water supply is fully restored.
- Avoid injuries: Wear appropriate shoes and labour gloves for protection when cleaning household surroundings to avoid tetanus and other infectious diseases resulting from injuries by pointed objects such as nails and broken glass. Adopt appropriate management immediately in case of injuries.
- Eliminate sources of disease vectors, prevent dengue fever: After the typhoon, citizens or condominium owners associations should proactively inspect their apartments and common areas of the buildings, and remove all indoor and outdoor breeding grounds (e.g. tyres, canvas, plastic bottles, saucers underneath flower pots) in order to lower the density of the dengue vector mosquitoes and reduce the risk of transmission of dengue fever virus;
- Guard against mosquitoes: After the typhoon, the immense accumulation of stagnant water is most amenable for mosquito breeding; therefore, no matter in indoor or outdoor, adopt more anti-mosquito measures.
- If develop symptoms like fever, abdominal pain or diarrhoea, seek medical attention promptly, and inform the doctor of your relevant contact history, cause of injury and wounds of contamination in order to facilitate the diagnosis and treatment.
For queries regarding communicable diseases, please call 28 700 800.