Fully utilizing 323 public health centers

This summer, the Province Office will be on full alert on prevention of outbreak of nine major infectious diseases (i.e. measles, mumps, malaria, bacterial dysentery, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, leptospira, Wibrio Vulnificus and Korean Hemorrhagic Fever) found in the province through a system of intensive control and publicizing toward inhabitants.

For higher efficiency in preventive operations, the Office will focus its efforts on areas with past record of occurrence of infectious disease, i.e. areas near DMZ such as Yeoncheon, Paju, Gimpo for malaria, Yeoju and Yangpyeong for water-caused diseases including bacterial dysentery, Hwaseong and Anseong for leptospira, and Ansan and Gimpo for Wibrio Vulnificus. It will also apply efforts to the entire Province for other infectious diseases like measles and mumps.

The Office will put a special task force team into operation for prevention of infectious disease. The task force team will be in control of 41 subdivisions including 11 special subdivisions for prevention of malaria and 323 public health centers as fever-causing infectious disease report centers.

The special task force team will operate 41 teams of epidemiologists for constant watch and preventive efforts between April and October in addition to invigoration of 4,000 monitors’ activities and operation of 20 cholera-watch medical institutions located near the sea.

The Province earmarked a budget of \298 million for preventive injections against influenza, Japanese encephalitis, measles (for 170,000 pre-school age children) and hepatitis B (for 5,000 patients).

The efforts will include preventive measures taken by joint teams of civilians, officials and the military, which will spray mosquito (larvae)-killing chemicals in the areas with past records of frequent occurrence of malaria between May and September in cooperation with 381 private businesses particularly at the times of natural disaster.

The preventive measures will include daily monitoring of patients in cooperation with clinics and pharmacies and weekly density survey of mosquito larvae causing Japanese encephalitis and malaria between April and September, in addition to installation of mosquito-attracting lamps in particularly vulnerable areas, epidemics forecast surveys and weekly collection of sea water, fish and clams for inspection.

As well, the Office will carry out periodical exams for 228,000 employees working in service businesses to see whether they carry diseases and put overseas travelers on the watch list for possibility of spreading diseases of foreign origin.