The frontal system, in addition to all the human and agricultural damage caused, generated the outcrop of sewage in certain communes of the country, for which the health authority announced emergency vaccination operations against Hepatitis A and Tetanus in the communes that require it, including Pudahuel.
The bad weather front has wreaked havoc in Chile. Damage and human losses, bridges cut, landslides, river floods and, an effect that may go unnoticed but that urgently needs to be addressed: the outcrop of sewage. This means that residual or black water – obtained after human intervention, with biological, physical and chemical waste – comes to the surface and contaminates different spaces.
For this reason, the Ministry of Health announced a preventive plan for emergency vaccination against Hepatitis A and Tetanus in places where it is required.
For Waldo Díaz, biochemist, doctor in Microbiology and USS Nutrition and Dietetics academic, it is essential to get vaccinated, but also to take other actions.
“The Hepatitis A virus inhabits the human intestine, therefore, it is mainly found in sewage and in contact with feces, unfortunately it does not have antiviral treatment, and it needs people to be protected through their own immune system. , that is achieved only through vaccination, ”said Díaz.
However, he explained that despite our country contemplating the vaccine against this pathology, the problem is that some vaccines have a specific period of time that guarantees protection. “If after a period of 10-15 years the person does not come into contact with the virus or does not reinforce the dose of the vaccine, it is advisable to participate in the preventive campaign if you are exposed to these sewage,” he explained.
Regarding Tetanus, the academic stated that the main risk is for rescuers who may have an exposed wound, the Clostridium tetani Along with the vaccination scheme, it is important to quickly and thoroughly clean wounds that are in contact with this sewage and that preventive vaccination against viral disease is important.
But an expert also warns that contaminants remain on utensils and furniture even after they dry. The furniture must be thoroughly cleaned to prevent aerosols or vapors containing viral particles and/or bacteria from emanating when the sun rises and, thus, they can spread even days after coming into contact with these sewage.
In this sense, it recommends that food that came into contact with sewage be discarded, since there is no guarantee that there are no ‘heat-resistant’ toxins, therefore, even when the person has carried out a cooking process, they could become intoxicated. .
2023-06-28 16:45:39
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