Teams of doctors to visit flood-affected areas

The department of Health and Family Welfare has constituted special teams of doctors to work in the flood-affected areas besides cancelling leaves of several doctors in the flood-affected regions.

The teams of doctors have been assigned with tasks to ensure safe drinking water and quality food to those who have been evacuated from the affected areas. The doctors should also ensure regular supply of medicines in the flood-affected areas.

Dr T S Prabhakar, director, department of Health and Family Welfare said that doctors from other parts of the state will also be deputed to the affected regions based on the demands. Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Raichur districts have been put on high alert, besides parts of other north Karnataka region.

Dr Shashikanth Munnyal, DHO, Belagavi, said that rapid response teams have been readied in the taluks. He said that in Chikkodi, Athani, Gokak and Raybagh which are most affected, integrated disease surveillance teams have been pressed into action.

“These teams will visit the rehabilitation centres and the hospitals in the affected areas to check if there is a possible outbreak of an epidemic and alert the department at the earliest,” he said.

Gruel centres have been started by the Excise department in some affected districts.

The Health Department officials have been instructed to work along with the officials from other departments and the gram panchayats to ensure that safe drinking water and food is consumed by those rescued.

The department officials have also been asked to conduct checks on the water provided at the rehabilitation centres. The panchayats have been asked to circulate message that water should be consumed only after it is boiled and cooled till the situation resumes to normalcy.

In Haveri, the administrative officers at the taluk hospitals and the taluk health officers have been given specific instructions to report mass cases of vomiting and diarrhoea and other such diseases to the DHO before the media reports.