Thousands of healthcare workers from across China have been deployed in Sichuan province in a bid to treat injuries and help prevent epidemics of infectious disease in survivors of the magnitude 8.0 earthquake that struck on May 12.
The official death toll on Sunday May 18 was 34 073. More than 245 000 people were reported injured and 52 934 had been admitted to hospital. The Ministry of Health reported that it had dispatched 5850 medical staff to affected townships and that two 400 bed field hospitals had been set up in isolated areas.
In contrast to military junta rulers in Burma (also known as Myanmar), the Chinese government has welcomed overseas assistance. Donations from overseas topped the $860m (£441m; €554m) mark within a week of the earthquake, and non-governmental organisations such as the World Health Organization and the Red Cross are working closely with the Chinese authorities to coordinate relief activities.
“We have been very involved from the beginning and the Chinese government welcomed all support from the United Nations organisations including WHO, except to places where there is limited access,” said Dr Arturo Pesigan, technical officer, emergency and humanitarian action, in WHO’s Western Pacific region office, which covers China. “We are now working on meeting the requests for emergency medical help and supplies, particularly specialised testing equipment and wound care supplies.”
At least 39 doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals from Hong Kong have gone to the region through the Hong Kong Red Cross, other non-governmental organisations, or as part of two Hong Kong hospital authority teams comprising 19 volunteers sent to the West China Hospital in the provincial capital Chengdu.
A week after the earthquake there was no sign of mass outbreaks of infectious disease in the quake area or among the hundreds of thousands of displaced people who have been moved to safety and housed in stadiums and other open spaces. China’s Ministry of Health sent 646 doctors and other health professionals to work on disease prevention and 350 tonnes of disease prevention supplies are being shipped to the area.
“Our people in the field report that there are more and more medical and environmental hygiene personnel flocking to the area and it seems there are sufficient people to handle the affected population,” said Wilson Wong Mok-fai, deputy secretary general of the Hong Kong Red Cross. “We are trying to identify whether each hospital has sufficient medical equipment and supplies.”
Getting adequate supplies of clean water and food and restoring sanitation are crucial, said Dr Pesigan. “So far we haven’t seen any reports of disease problems and most of the interventions necessary to avoid disease epidemics are being undertaken. The immunisation rate in that area is reportedly high so the risk from immunisable disease may not be of so much concern as the risk of waterborne diarrhoeal diseases and infections associated with over crowding.”
He added that there are also concerns about the risk of secondary infection from poor wound care, ensuring that people with chronic disease can continue with their drugs, and the impact of psychological trauma.