The
director of the Communicable Disease Control (CDC) Department at the Ministry
of Health has urged the public to protect themselves from diseases that are
easily spread in the upcoming rainy season, including dengue fever, malaria,
acute watery diarrhea and influenza.
Dr. Ly
Sovann said people should take a wide range of precautionary measures to
prevent communicable diseases from spreading, including eating a balanced and
nutritious diet to washing their hands as often as possible.
“During
the rainy season, all people should drink hot water, eat hot soup and/or hot
milk,” he said.
“They
also should make sure that their body is clean and their hands washed often
with soap. Their water should be clean from larvae and mosquitos must be
eradicated from their house and places around their house.”
Seang
Nath, the chief of Mesor Chrey commune’s healthcare center in Kampong Cham
province’s Stoeng Triang district, said he plans to travel to villages in the
area to speak to resident representatives to pass on the CDC’s
recommendations.
He said
officials from the provincial health department occasionally visited to share
the CDC’s recommendations to residents.
“They
come in ambulances with a big speaker on the roof. The villagers can hear the
recommendations of the CDC from far away,” he said.
Dr. Nath
said diseases such as malaria, diarrhea and influenza were common occurrences
in the commune thanks to the wet conditions of the aptly named season.
According
to the Ministry of Health, diarrhea and foodborne disease outbreaks are common
in Cambodia, with officials saying the most effective way to prevent the spread
of diseases was to only consume bottled water.
Dengue is
endemic throughout Cambodia, with the majority of infections occurring during
the rainy season. Health officials advise residents and tourists to protect
themselves from mosquito bites during the night and even in the day.
Last year
the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health alerted travelers
and citizens to the possibility of catching the Middle East Respiratory virus
(MERS) in Cambodia after it was detected in South Korea.
Vicky
Houssiere, a communications officer with the WHO, said the government has been
preparing for the virus since 2012 by sending doctors to receive training on
how to prevent it.
Ms.
Housiere also said the WHO has been cooperating with the Ministry of Health to
improve and strengthen the Kingdom’s capacity to deal with emerging diseases
such as SARS and MERS. “They focus on improving the healthcare system such as
laboratories and surveillance,”she said.
According
to the CDC, the government has received a second Greater Mekong Sub-region
grant of $10 million for the cost of a Regional Communicable Disease Control
Project, with the additional funding for malaria program activities getting a
grant of $4 million.
The main
goal is to improve the health of the population in the region, in particular
for ethnic groups, women and children in border districts.
The CDC
added that the project aims to control communicable diseases in the region that
are likely to have a major impact on public health and economic growth through
“enhanced regional communicable diseases control systems, improved surveillance
along borders and economic corridors and integrated project management.”
Tin
Sokhavuth
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