Sanitary services disinfect the water supply; there are no plans for mass vaccination

Sanitary services in areas where water is slowly disappearing after a flood, treat water in water supply systems and control the sanitary condition of public utilities. There are no plans for mass immunization yet.

Sanitary services disinfect water supply systems in flooded areas in the Opole region, in the province Silesia, Lesser Poland and the Lublin region. So far, no cases of illness and poisoning related to the flood have been recorded.

Sanitary services are also not planning mass vaccination campaigns – e.g. against tetanus. Vaccinations against this disease are administered to rescuers and people who have injured themselves and their damaged skin has come into contact with contaminated water. Sanepids have a sufficient number of vaccines, those who are interested can report to health care facilities.

We checked the stocks of this vaccine and its availability in health care facilities. We have accumulated these vaccines even beyond measure, here is full coverage – the Silesian Voivodship Sanitary Inspector, Grzegorz Hudzik, assured PAP.

In Opole, one water intake was flooded supplying Ujazd and Niezdrowice. It has already been pre-disinfected. For now, water is only allowed for toilets, we recommend bottled water for washing and consumption, stressed Anna Matejuk, acting director of the Opole sanitary facility.

In Silesia, water from the water supply systems is clean, and where contamination has occurred, they have been turned off or redirected. To places where there is no running water, it is delivered in containers or in water carts. Continuous water supplies for residents were also provided in Wrocław.

Sanitary services do not recommend cleaning and disinfecting flooded wells. They advise you to wait until the groundwater level drops. In the Opole region, the dosage of disinfectants has been increased in almost all waterworks. This happened even in areas where there were no floods. This is due to an elevated level of groundwater that can contaminate water in installations.

The sanitary services unanimously emphasize that they now have a lot of work to do. The post-flood period is a very hot time for us. We must inspect all public facilities, examine the water in each well before it is considered fit for consumption – emphasized the head of the Sanepid in Opole.

There are also doubts among sanitary services as to who will pay for the gigantic amount of necessary examinations. It is known that not the residents, and the station, in turn, does not have such funds – the head of the Cieszyn Sanepid, Teresa Wałga, told PAP.

In the province wastewater treatment plants and cemeteries were flooded in Silesia. However – according to the head of the local sanitary department – with all possible actions – including estimating the potential epidemiological risk – you have to wait for the water to settle.

Hudzik also noted that it is difficult to imagine the disinfection of large areas of the land – the amount of measures used at that time could cause an ecological disaster.

A more urgent action – as he emphasized – is, however, disinfecting places where people are constantly present. It is about flooded houses and public utilities. After the water has fallen, the silt and rubbish removed, the residents can do it on their own – working in rubber gloves and using household remedies based on, for example, chlorine. In places where people will not do it on their own, e.g. due to age, military units made of chemical platoons will be helpful. The military will also be used to disinfect such places as sewage treatment plants, settling tanks or landfills. (PAP)

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