DOH increases vaccinations at typhoon-hit areas

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Department of Health (DOH) has  intensified vaccinations at evacuation centers in areas devastated by typhoon Haiyan, to prevent any disease outbreak, a senior government official said today.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona said that threats of epidemics loom in vulnerable communities that have no access to safe water and suffer from poor or inadequate sanitation and vector control.

"Although there are no outbreaks recorded yet, we instructed the newly-deployed replacement teams to step up measles, tetanus, oral polio and rabies vaccinations in all evacuation centers," he said.

Ona also announced plans for the rebuilding or rehabilitation of destroyed or damaged health facilities in central Philippine region of Eastern Visayas, as early recovery has already started.

He appealed to the private sector and nongovernment organizations to offer resources and personnel which would address serious gaps in infrastructure, equipment and manpower requirements.

Over 10 million people in 10,560 villages in 44 provinces were affected by Haiyan (local name Yolanda), which struck the country on Nov. 8. Of the affected population, 3.99 million were displaced and being served both inside and outside evacuation centers ,where most of them are located in the worst-hit provinces of Leyte and Eastern Samar.

The death toll from Typhoon Haiyan has increased to 3,982 as of Tuesday, and the number of injured ballooned to 18,267, according to figures released by the Philippine government.