Surveillance in Evacuation Camps After the Eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, Philippines

To obtain accurate, timely data on the health status of persons in evacuation camps after the eruption of the Mt. Pinatubo volcano, the Philippine Department of Health (DOH) conducted a survey of the health needs of the evacuees and established disease surveillance in each camp. Surveys of the camps...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:MMWR. Surveillance summaries 1992-08, Vol.41 (SS-4), p.9-12
Main Authors: Surmieda, Maria Ruth S., Abad-Viola, Grace, Abellanosa, Ilya P., Magboo, Florante P., Magpantay, Rio L., Pascual, Maria Luz G., Tayag, Enrique A., Diza, Franklin C., Lopez, Juan M., Miranda, Mary Elizabeth G., Sadang, Robert A., Zacarias, Nancy S., White, Felilia M., Roces, Maria Concepcion R., White, Mark E., Dayrit, Manuel M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Child care
Child nutrition
Diarrhea
Diarrhea - epidemiology
Disasters
Disease outbreaks
Disease Outbreaks - statistics & numerical data
Epidemiology
Health Services Needs and Demand - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Measles
Measles - epidemiology
Medical personnel
Morbidity
Mortality
Philippines - epidemiology
Population Surveillance
Relief Work
Respiratory tract infections
Respiratory Tract Infections - epidemiology
Surveillance
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Summary:To obtain accurate, timely data on the health status of persons in evacuation camps after the eruption of the Mt. Pinatubo volcano, the Philippine Department of Health (DOH) conducted a survey of the health needs of the evacuees and established disease surveillance in each camp. Surveys of the camps revealed that sources of potable water, sanitary means of waste disposal, and shelters were inadequate. Disease surveillance showed that measles, acute respiratory infections, and diarrhea were the most important problems. Surveillance detected outbreaks of measles and an outbreak of vomiting and diarrhea in the camps. Deaths, primarily caused by measles (31%), diarrhea (29%), and respiratory infections (22%), totaled 349 in the first 12 weeks. Death rates peaked in the seventh week, when a death rate of 26/10,000 occurred among the Aetas, a tribe evacuated from the slopes of the volcano. The surveys guided the DOH in allocating supplies and medicine, while disease surveillance enabled disaster managers to monitor the effectiveness of health programs, identify high-risk groups, and respond appropriately to the situation.
ISSN:1546-0738
1545-8636
1545-8636