BEWARE OF FOOD BORNE DISEASES THIS YULETIDE SEASON

The yuletide season is here again, let's eat! But let's eat safely. Don't let food borne illness, sometimes known as "food poisoning," ruin your festive/holiday plans. Whether you're in your kitchen or helping friends or family in theirs, follow the four simple steps to food safety—CLEAN, SEPARATE, COOK, and CHILL.

Always wash your hands and surfaces often, don't CROSS-CONTAMINATE, cook to the right temperature, and refrigerate promptly, when needful.

Bacteria that cause illness can survive on your hands, utensils, and cutting boards even after you've cleaned your hands and surfaces thoroughly. Raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs can still spread bacteria to ready-to-eat foods. Bacteria that cause food poisoning multiply the quickest in the "Danger Zone" between 4°C (40°F) and 60°C(140°F). Bacteria can grow in perishable foods within 2 hours unless the foods are refrigerated properly.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU SUSPECT FOOD POISONING?
The first thing to do once you suspect any food you've eaten is to see your doctor . Especially if you have:

a.)  HIGH FEVER (temperature over 38°C (101.5°F) measured orally thermometer). 

b.)  Blood in stool 

c.)  Prolonged vomiting that prevents keeping liquids down (which can lead to dehydration) 

d.)  Signs of dehydration, including a decrease in urination, a dry mouth and throat, and feeling dizzy when standing up. 

e.)  Diarrheal illnesses that lasts more than 3 days

Do not be surprised if your doctor does not prescribe an antibiotic.  Many diarrheal illnesses are caused by viruses and will improve in 2 or 3 days without antibiotic therapy. In fact, antibiotics have no effect on viruses, and using an antibiotic to treat a viral infection could cause more harm than good.

It is often not necessary to take an antibiotic even in the case of a mild bacterial infection. Other treatments can also help the symptoms. Careful hand washing has proven very useful and can prevent the spread of infection to other people.

Please note that overuse of antibiotics is the principal reason many bacteria are becoming resistant.  Resistant bacteria are no longer killed by the antibiotic administered. This means that it is important to use antibiotics only when they are really needed.  Partial treatment with antibiotics can also cause bacteria to become resistant. If an antibiotic is prescribed, it is important to take all of the medication as prescribed, and not stop early just because the symptoms seem to be improving.

ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE AND FOOD SAFETYWhile many foodborne infections are mild and do not require much treatment, antibiotics can be lifesaving in severe cases. Antibiotic-resistance compromises our ability to treat these infections and it results to a very serious threat to public health.

Salmonella, E. Coli, Campylobacter and Vibro cholerae  are some of the many bacteria commonly transmitted through food and water. They are known to cause huge lot of antibiotic-resistant strains of infections each year.

This post  tends to provide an overview of antibiotic resistance, how it connects to food wholesomeness / safety, and what you can do to protect yourself and others from foodborne illness.

ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE:  Antibiotics are among the most commonly prescribed drugs used in human medicine. Science have revealed that antibiotic resistance is spread through the resistant strains of bacteria from person to person, or from the natural environment, including the foods we eat. The germs that contaminate food can be resistant because of the indiscriminate use/abuse of antibiotics in people and in food animals.

Antibiotics are powerful tools for fighting illnesses and diseases, but overuse / abuse has helped create bacteria that are outliving the drugs  that are used to treat them.

Antibiotic resistance is the ability of microbes to resist the effects of drugs. That means germs are not killed and their growth is not stopped.

The use of antibiotics is the single most important factor leading to antibiotic resistance around the world. Resistant bacteria are more common in settings where antibiotics are frequently used: healthcare settings, the community, family settings and of course  food animal production.  

Efforts to prevent resistant infections includes immunization, infection control, ANTIBIOTIC STEWARDSHIP (meaning good antibiotic prescribing practices), reducing spread from one person to another, and protecting the food supply.

VULNERABILITY:

Let me ask this question: WHO CAN BECOME INFECTED WITH ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT STRAIN OF BACTERIA? 

ANS: ANYONE! 

YES! Anyone can become infected with antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria. It is mind-blowing that despite the scientifically developed nature of the United States of America, it is on record that at least 2 million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 people die annually as a direct result of these infections.

Although some people are at greater risk than others, no one can completely avoid the risk of antibiotic-resistant infections. Infections with resistant organisms can be difficult to treat, requiring costly and sometimes toxic alternatives. Some resistant infections cause severe illness and may result in increased recovery time, increased medical expenses, or even death.

EHSadvisor's TIPS:

1.) Take antibiotics only when needed.

2.)  Do understand the importance and seriousness of antibiotic-resistant infections linkS to contaminated food.

3.)  Young children, pregnant women, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems are known to be most at risk for infection.

EHSadvisor ADVICE: WE ADVICE THAT YOU FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE FOOD WHOLESOMENSS/ SAFETY TIPS:

1.)  PROPERLY WASH/CLEAN your hands and all surfaces, especially kitchen sink and cabinet surfaces, often. Note that germs can survive in many places around your kitchen, including on your hands, utensils, cutting boards and rodents in some cases. You must wash your hands properly with soap after contact with animals, (be it dead or alive)  or animal environments. 

2.)Never share your kitchen with rodents (rats/mice). Similarly, you must keep pets (eg dogs, cats, fowls etc)  far away from your kitchen and food store. 

3.) SEPARATE FRESH FOODS FROM RAW FOOD: It is seriously advised you be very careful so you don't cross-contaminate. Even after you've cleaned your hands and surfaces thoroughly, raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs can still spread germs to produce and ready-to-eat foods—unless you keep them separate. 

4.)  PROPERLY COOK ALL RAW FOODS: Be very sure to cook your food properly and to the right temperature. While many people think they can tell when food is "done" simply by checking its color and texture, there's no way to be sure it's safe without following a few important, but simple steps. Use a food thermometer to ensure that foods are cooked to a safe internal temperature: 62°C (145°F) for whole meats (allowing the meat to rest for 3 minutes before carving or consuming), 71°C (160°F) for ground meats, and 73° (165°F) for all poultry. Keep your refrigerator below 3°C (40°F) and refrigerate foods properly. Germs can grow in many foods within 2 hours unless you refrigerate them. However, during dry hot seasons, you may decide to cut that time down to 1 hour.

5.)  Report suspected outbreak of illness from food (food poisoning) to your closest health facility, the medical officer of Health in the LGA, the Ministry of Health's DISEASE SURVEILLANCE : state/federal etc.

6.) Make sure you DON'T prepare food for others if you have open sore on your hands or indeed any part of your body; Or if you have diarrhea, vomiting, persistent deep cough and long fingernails among others. Be especially very careful when preparing food for children, pregnant women, those in poor health, and older adults.

7.) Always use pallets to place your raw food in the food store. DONT PLACE YOUR RAW FOOD ON THE BARE GROUND OR FLOOR. 

MAKE SURE THE FLOOR IS SOLIDLY CEMENTED WITH CONCRETE AND CEMENT MORTER AND SEAL UP ALL CREVICES, HOLES ETC. .

8.) The food Store temperature must never go above 25°C. 

9.) It's not advisable to place your fridge/deep freezers in the food store except there is a corresponding air conditioning system in place. This has become imperative  because of the heat from the fridge(s) / freezer(s) would heat up the food store's temperature above the normal room temperature of 25°C, and it could cause raw FOOD SPOILAGE.

DANGER: BLACK SOOT IS HERE AGAIN

#DANGER: BLACK SOOT IS HERE AGAIN!!!

Port-Harcourt city and its environs last year experienced a very bad case of air pollution. Black soot enveloped our homes, offices and the entire atmosphere.
Some said the soot was a result of illegal refining of crude oil, while the Rivers State government reported that it was a result of an asphalt processing plant.

Presently, as I write, there is a reoccurrence of this soot again. I live in Rumuodara/Eliozu axis in Obio-Akpor local government and our entire region is presently experiencing a reoccurrence of this menace.

As an Agricultural and Environmental Engineer, I know the implication of Particulate Matter (PM), which comprises of both sediments and suspended particles. Amongst the health implications are respiratory problems such as bronchitis, serious lung damage,  pneumonia in vulnerable persons,
changes in blood chemistry resulting to heart attacks, cancer, etc. PM also impedes plant growth by blockage of the stomata pores, which of cause will result to poor crop output (food shortage).
So in all, both humans and plants are seriously affected by this pollution, and animals are not left out.

Rivers people, we may have left our resources to individuals and inhuman government officials to misuse and bastardize over the years, but environmental issues is everybody's business as it affects our health whether we like it or not. We need to speak out now (as I'm speaking) and educate one another of this exposure before its too late. Our lives and that of our loved ones are at stake!

To Governor Wike: Your Excellency Sir, you need to revisit the Air pollution file that was opened last year concerning the soot rain in the state. We have a ministry of Environment that should be properly engaged to investigate this issue professionally and mitigate it immediately. The lives of all the Rivers State residents including yours are all at stake! To be very candid, I have lived almost all of my present 45years in Port-Harcourt, and I have seen different governments come and go, but I cannot remember ever experiencing an environmental crisis such as this Air Pollution issue. You need to really expedite action on this. Many thanks Sir!

Signed:
Engr.(Mrs.) Eunice MacPepple, MNSE.

#Please keep sharing to everyone resident in Rivers State and its environs.

LAGOS STATE GOVT GIVES MOSQUES, CHURCHES 90-DAY ULTIMATUM OVER NOISE POLLUTION

Worried by the proliferation of noise  in residential areas, the Lagos State government has handed down 90-day ultimatum to churches and mosques to sound-proof their premises or risk closure.

The section 9 of the law establishing Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) empowered the agency to make regulations on acceptable standards or criteria to control the pollution level of water, air, noise and land in consonance with the federal government guidelines and policies and criteria on the environment.

It however fixed the maximum permissible noise limit for mixed residential areas with some commercial and entertainment to 55 dba from 6-10pm and 45 dba from 10pm-6am.  Commissioner for environment, Dr. Samuel Adejare , who stated this at a parley with church representatives in Lagos warned that state’s zero tolerance to noise pollution was still in force.

He regretted the influx of religious centres in various residential areas in the state adding that the ultimatum was as a result of complaints by residents on the extent of noise in places of worship.

Adejare maintained that any noise above the approved noise levels contravened the provisions of the National Environmental Noise Standard and Controls regulations 2009 as well as the Lagos State Environmental Laws 2017.

He emphasised the need for places of worship to carry out their activities orderly without infringing on the rights of residents.

According to him, “The paramount commandment is to love God and love your neighbour as yourselves.”

The commissioner solicited the support of religious centres in adhering to government rules on noise levels adding that they were mandated to operate in an enclosed and soundproof environment using regulated speakers.

“Various structures ranging from residential plots, uncompleted buildings, open spaces, shops and motor parks are being converted to religious worship centres which is not befitting for a mega city like Lagos,” he concluded.

Source - 

http://leadership.ng/2017/11/21/lasg-gives-mosques-churches-90-day-ultimatum-noise-pollution/

Similarly, the Oyo State government, August, 2017, also gave a two-week ultimatum to churches, mosques, as well as clubs and restaurants to remove their outdoor speakers or face prosecution.

The Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Isaac Ishola gave the ultimatum during an inter-ministerial press briefing in Ibadan, the state capital. He said the complaints and distress calls from residents made the ban necessary.

Ishola explained that the Oyo state government was committed to reducing the noise level in residential areas to 45 decibel at night and 60 decibel in the afternoon within five meters radius.

He also disclosed that some places of worship had been sealed up for noise pollution, while no fewer than 372 environmental offenders have been prosecuted in the last one year.

The Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism Mr. Toye Arulogun and other aides to the governor also attended the meeting.

Warning against noise pollution, he said religious activities should not be made to disturb others, adding that most of the complaints were against places of worship.

He said: “We are giving churches and mosques with external speakers two weeks to remove them. You don’t use religion to disturb others. I am a Christian and I have supervised the locking up of three churches for disturbing their neighbours with noise. If I can do that against churches I will do it against mosques and other places.”

The commissioner enjoined all owners of vehicles and motorcycles to take them for emission test at the offices of three consultants approved for the exercise.

He said: “If you own a vehicle, motorcycle or generator, it must be subjected to gaseous emission test. The essence is not to make money for government, but to control gaseous emission believed to be one of the major causes of cancer and other ailments. The ministry has two mobile courts that would sit during the day and we have arranged that magistrates courts should also try environmental offenders.”

The commissioner disclosed that the state had also approved additional 70 waste collectors, while a memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been signed with West African Energy to convert waste to wealth in the state.

Can Rivers state do same???? 

WORLD TOILET DAY: 19 NOVEMBER 2017 - Theme: "wastewater"

DATE:  Sun 19/11/17

World Toilet Day is a day to raise awareness and inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis – a topic often neglected and shrouded in taboos. Today, 2.4 billion people are struggling to stay well, keep their children alive and work their way to a better future – all for the want of a toilet.

The Sustainable Development Goals, launched in 2015, include a target to ensure everyone everywhere has access to toilets by 2030. This makes sanitation a global development priority.

In 2013, the United Nations General Assembly officially designated November 19 as World Toilet Day. World Toilet Day is coordinated by UN-Water in collaboration with governments and partners.

The theme for World Toilet Day 2016 was "Toilets and jobs" which focussed on how sanitation, or the lack of it, can impact on livelihoods. Toilets play a crucial role in creating a strong economy, as well as improving health and protecting people’s safety and dignity, particularly women’s and girls’.

The theme for 2017 is "wastewater." By 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals aim to reach everyone with sanitation, and halve the proportion of untreated wastewater and increase recycling and safe reuse. For that to be achieved, we need everyone’s waste to be contained, transported, treated and disposed of in a safe and sustainable way. Today, for billions of people around the world, sanitation systems are either non-existent or ineffective. Human waste gets out and killer diseases spread, meaning progress in health and child survival is seriously undermined.

For more information, please visit the World Toilet Day website.

WEB LINK: 

World Toilet Day

MALARIA PREVENTION IN NIGERIA: THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Approach

The politics of malaria control in Nigeria is not really enjoying Environmental health professional touch / approach as its done in civilized countries of the world where the war against malaria is (as a result) being won relatively to a large extent, but rather, the malaria fight in Nigeria is currently seen to suffer manipulations in favour of chemotherapy and Chemoprophylaxis thereby relegating non-drug techniques that Environmental Health actually, professionally provides.
That solely contributes to the reasons why malaria remains endemic in Nigeria despite all the billions of Naira pumped into the fight.

Also, another big contributory factor is the usurpation of managerial functions of preventive and Environmental health by medical doctors (for percuniary gains) from the trained Environmental Health Officers who are better trained and certified to manage the services.

There must be clear cut boundary between preventive health practitioners and curative health practitioners in Nigeria for malaria war to be won.
- EHSadvisor

We shall concentrate our discuss on Environmental health approach that could actually change the status quo and turn the tide against mosquitoes and malaria. You need to learn how you can make the environment unfavourable for mosquito breeding and how to kill the mosquito larvae in water collections as you will know more about the distinguishing characteristics of Anopheline larvae.

Environmental Health Management for vector control refers to the planning, organisation, carrying out and monitoring of activities for the modification and/or manipulation of environmental factors, with the aim of preventing or minimising vector breeding and reducing human-vector-parasite contact.
If such measures result in long-lasting or permanent changes in land, water or vegetation, they are often referred to as Environmental modification.
When such measures have a temporary effect and need to be repeated, they are known as Environmental manipulation.

Let us now focus on some simple and effective environmental manipulation tools, which can be planned and implemented at the village level by mobilising the community and under your direct supervision. Some environmental modification methods could involve very complicated engineering designs of natural and man-made water systems to make them unfavourable for vector breeding.

The first step in planning Environmental management activities is to identify the water collections where the potential vectors of malaria are breeding. You might plan to remove or destroy all potential breeding sites, whether they are sheltering mosquito larvae or not. However, this could be unrealistic if there are too many sites and your human and material resources are limited. Then you have to be selective and prioritise water collections according to the following criteria:

A) Water collections with anopheline mosquitoes only, and/or anopheline and other mosquito larvae should be removed.

B)  All temporary rain water collections should be destroyed.

C)  All water collections with other mosquito larvae have to be addressed.

D)  Any standing water that is not used by people or their animals should be removed.

We will also enable you know more on how to identify areas that are vector breeding habitats in the community, and how to organise and coordinate community participation in larval control measures.

It is worthy of emphasis here again while also letting our government and political leaders know that cleaning and modifying the environment can make it hard for  mosquitoes to complete their life cycle and be then develop to transmit malaria.

Larval control is one of the most important malaria prevention measures that can be planned and implemented at the community level.
Larval control is any method that helps prevent vector breeding or kills the mosquito at its larval stage.

There are other malaria prevention or vector control measures that are also very important and you need know more about. -EHSadvisor's blog

Some key points to know in malaria control and transmission:

1) Malaria is transmitted by a mosquito vector known as the female anopheles mosquito.
Not all mosquito types transmit malaria. The female anopheles mosquito lays its eggs in water collections and the life cycle in water takes about 10 days to complete.

The implications of these facts are that:

i.   No mosquitoes means no malaria transmission.

ii.  Making water collections unfavourable for mosquito breeding means few or no mosquitoes in the community.

iii.  Killing the mosquito larvae in the water collections before they become adults and fly away, means fewer or no mosquitoes in the community.

If we could mobilize and synergize all our
Environmental Health resources to focus on achieving the above goals in our daily routine jobs would definitely mean very small or no malaria transmission.
This above malaria control method is called INTERRUPTION OF PATHWAY OF TRANSMISSION
in environmental health professional lingua. And it can be achieved by massively mobilizing Environmental Health professionals to that effect.

2.) There are measures that rely on using insect-killing insecticides against the adult (flying) mosquitoes by spraying insecticides with active knockdown effect indoors, against the adult mosquitoes  and and also using insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) to achieve same.

ITS THE USE OF INSECTICIDAL CHEMICAL FORMULATIONS TO KILL MOSQUITOES AND BY EXTENSION, MALARIA.
This method is effective against adult and larval stage of the mosquitoes when professionally done. It is very good for indoors other impregnated materials as its kills broad spectrum
Also, its application in breeding sites and
have recorded very encouraging report. Eg DDT
Moreover, they kill all insects in its scope of application including those not of public health importance.

Larval control for malaria prevention
It must be also pointed out that malaria prevention with target on larval control is better and very strategic in winning the malaria war for the following reasons:

a.)  Larval control is the first line of defense in malaria prevention and presents your first chance of breaking the malaria transmission cycle.

b.) The mosquito larvae are not flying insects; it is easy to find the water collections where they are developing to become the adult mosquitoes that will start biting people and transmitting malaria.

c.) Many of the larval control measures are inexpensive; they can be implemented by educating, mobilising and coordinating even community members to help by cleaning their environment. Compared to other measures, the chemical methods of larval control are also not very expensive and are simple enough to be applied even by volunteer health workers in the community after simple guides..

It must be pointed out that mosquito species differ in their preferences for breeding habitats. The species that mainly transmit malaria in Ethiopia (Anopheles arabiensis) breed in clean and muddy water collections that are either man-made or naturally-occurring near houses; they do not breed in polluted water like in poor sanitation systems. Once the breeding sites are known, appropriate control measures may be simple and inexpensive.

Most breeding sites in and near houses are easy to identify and simple methods are available to eliminate them. Community members can and should join hands with Environmental health officers in their job by taking mass action against any known/identified breeding sites of mosquitoes observed in or near their premises.

Larval control may be the only effective approach when mosquitoes bite outdoors and do not enter houses to feed or rest, or when the mosquitoes are not susceptible to the available insecticides.

Insecticide resistance of malaria vectors is particularly important in the Ethiopian situation. An important additional advantage of larval control is that some of the measures provide long-lasting protection.

LARVICIDING:

Larviciding is a technical term used to refer to the use of chemicals or biological agents or toxins to kill (mosquito) larvae. Water collection that cannot be managed properly by Environmental control measures can be better dealt with by larvicides. Like Environmental control measures, the success of larvicides will depend on the identification of mosquito breeding sites and their distribution in the area, followed by sustained weekly spraying of chemicals. Larvicides should be applied in conjunction with other Environmental control measures (Integrated pest management).

                            Applying larvicide into water collections that act as vector breeding sites. (Photo: Dr Yemane Ye-ebiyo Yihdego)

A chemical called Temephos (sold under the trade name Abate) has been the most widely used mosquito larvicide worldwide and in Ethiopia. Temephos is highly active against the nervous system of mosquito larvae and other aquatic insects, and a relatively low dosage can kill them before they reach the adult stage. Its toxicity (ability to poison) fish, birds, humans and other mammals is very low. Its low toxicity to non-target organisms and low effective dosage make Temephos the most appropriate larvicide in many situations. It is recommended for the control of mosquito larvae in drinking-water and in areas where fish, birds and mammals may come into contact with it.

According to the current Ethiopian national strategy for vector control, health posts will be supplied with spray pumps and Temephos, and you are expected to mobilise the community to undertake larviciding when necessary. Unlike indoor residual spraying.

Larviciding requires little technical skill and therefore you can train community members to spray Temephos into breeding sites under your supervision and technical support.

Before commencing larvicding technique, ensure the following: 

a) You have to first estimate (in square metres) the size of the breeding sites that shows positive for Anopheles larvae, that in your professional opinion cannot be dealt with effectively  by environmental management method. 

b)  Use a disposable syringe to measure 8 ml of Temephos (Abate) and mix it into 8 litres (one spray pump) of water. 

c)  One spray pump should cover an area of water of 320 square metres.

d) Pump by hand 60 times to produce the necessary level of air pressure in the sprayer. 

e)  Use trained community volunteers to spray the chemical onto the water in the breeding site.

d)  Keep good records of the accomplished activities.

To ensure effective prevention and control of malaria in the target area, it is important that all temporary or permanent vector breeding sites are identified and dealt with through active participation of community members.

NOTE: This malaria control strategy becomes effective only when the mosquitoes are systematically interrupted from breeding and/or their population is substantially decreased.

In summary, methods to control mosquito larvae involve the following:

i) Eliminating or changing the breeding place to make it unsuitable for development of larvae.

 ii) Making the breeding place inaccessible to adult mosquitoes.

iii) Larval control is also possible without changing breeding sites by applying chemical larvicides.

iv) The control of breeding places must be carried out around human settlements in an area with a radius greater than the flight range of the target mosquito species. For many species this is about 1.5–2 km. 

v) All control measures that are not permanently effective have to be maintained throughout the period of the mosquito breeding season. 

vi) The effort and expense needed to obtain effective larval control may vary with the size of the settlement and the type and number of breeding sites.

vii) In areas where malaria is a risk, you have to organise and educate the community to undertake environmental management activities such as draining, filling of communal mosquito breeding sites, irrigation canal water management, and chemical larviciding, etc. 

viii) These activities have to be well planned and performed under your keen professional supervision and assisted by volunteer community workers. 

In addition to the above efforts, do ensure that community level social and traditional structures such as CDCs, women’s associations, youth associations, cooperatives, health committees, schools, religious and community leaders, will all play a major role in social mobilisation as well as empowerment of the community to implement community based activities.

If the aforementioned procedures are carefully followed by qualified environmental health practitioner, there will be no breeding sites for mosquitoes and malaria will be defeated in Nigeria.

Always visit our blog for more to come soon....

-EHSadvisor's blog

SHOULD DISASTER STRIKE, BE PREPARED -Contd: ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE PLANNING

GUIDELINES ON
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE PLANNING

In Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, emergency is defined as "an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action" or "an urgent need for assistance or relief".

Disaster Emergency management is not a duty for the federal government only but for states and LGAs also including the citizenry.
Emergencies can be categorized according to size, type, or cause. All require immediate, organized, effective response. Natural disasters are usually large in size and affect many people and large geographical areas. These include floods, forest fires, tornadoes, earthquakes, and now terrorism impacts etc.

Man-made disasters are usually localized in nature but can also affect large numbers of victims with resultant severe or fatal injuries. They include train wrecks, industrial fires; chemical spills; fires from accident of petrol loaded trucks/vessels; fires as a result of illegal oil bunkering and pipeline vandalism; airplane crashes and intentional disasters such as terrorist events, arson, mob violence, or acts of war.

The ability to effectively meet the needs of the people in the aftermath of a major disaster is dependent upon the quality of planning done prior to the event.
As a matter of fact, in order to successfully prepare and own a good Environmental Health Plan for Nigeria, the states or Local government areas, all Environmental Health professionals and staff, including their functions/activities, must be properly structured, unified and administered with a very clear line of control and communication/information flow from the LGA to State and up to federal levels of administration with requisite punishment against erring staff where needful. 
The Environmental Health Authority (govt.) in conjunction with EHOAN (Environmental Health Officers Association of Nigeria) must ensure the preparation of a functional Environmental Health Plan that will enable the Environmental Health Authority (and public health authority too) to function in a manner that fulfills its obligation to protect the health of the victims and the people that have come to assist in the recovery effort all, facets of public health must be considered.

All Environmental Health Emergency response plans to be crafted and adopted in the country must be made to function and cover the same process as possible and should be in line with other emergency programs in the country as put together by the public Health authority and National Emergency Management Agency, Red cross, security etc operating in the country since disaster response requires a team effort to be successful.

Immediately after a disaster, the focus of activities must shift from those activities that meet long term results such as chronic disease control and family planning, to those that meet an immediate need such as safe food and water, sanitary housing from the natural elements, prevention of epidemic types of communicable diseases, maintenance of ongoing medical treatment, insect and rodent control and solid waste management among others.

Also, Emergency Response Plan should anticipate the types of disasters that are most likely to occur in your country, state or local area, the types of damages that would be produced, the impact it would have upon the residents, as well as the resources required to meet the needs of impacted persons should be paramount in Emergency plan.

Also much of planning should be applicable to more than one type of event, just in case of eventualities. For example, in Nigeria, both flooding and terrorism impacts are known to produce power / communication outages, over large geographical areas and call for similar response activities.

Activities that we have become accustomed to and consider routine suddenly become a major challenge. Among these are maintaining safe food supplies and food service operations, water supplies, insect and vector control, sewage disposal, and disease prevention,  treatment, and control.

SOPs (Standard Operations Procedures) specifies that any world class EHERP (Environmental Health Emergency Response Plan) must determine which activities are most important, predict the constraints imposed by the disaster, determine the appropriate response, identify the resources needed, and locate a source that can supply these resources quickly or stockpile them before the disaster occurs.

Below you will find well researched suggestions, protocols, policies, and activities that can be used to record actions and manage world class EHR  that could provide you with a starting block upon which you can build an emergency response plan that is realistic and allow you (Environmental Health practitioner or agency) to respond to emergency in an efficient effective professional manner.

Every disaster and every county and LGAs are different so you probably will need to add information that is specific for your area.
Do not feel that you are gathering a large amount of information that may never be used. It will not only teach you a great deal about your state or area and establish communications with other agencies, it will also be invaluable in times of a disaster.

The truth remains that after a disaster occurs you may not have time to assemble the information needed to initiate a successful response.

This Environmental Health Disaster Response Plan is a prepared working document that should be ready and kept safe for use by the state and local environmental health departments and can easily be adapted to meet the needs that would arise due to any disaster.
It will assist you in identifying potential problems and available resources, and will facilitate an organized response and efficient use of resources.
DO NOT WAIT TILL DISASTER STRIKE BEFORE PUTTING IN PLACE SUCH A RESPONSE PLAN.

It is recognized that every emergency is different requiring employees to be flexible, open minded, and innovative.  Many of the activities contained here below are applicable regardless of the cause of the emergency and can be site adapted to meet the needs of the victims.

This plan will be implemented at the directive of the head of the Environmental Health Authority, Public health authority or their designee, or NEMA, based on an assumption of authority policy established at the time the plan is adopted..

If there is advanced warning of an impending catastrophe the staff should be notified immediately and every effort should be made to assist them in assuring the safety of their families and the protection of their property. They will, however, be expected to comply with the plan and report to their duty stations at the time scheduled.

The Environmental Health Department, in conjunction with the Public health dept is responsible for providing comprehensive public health services necessary to prevent or control diseases in the impacted community in relation to the emergency and also provide adequate security to secure available resources/properties, all aimed at ensuring the best quality of life possible until the emergency is over and normal conditions have returned.

These responsibilities include sanitation services such as food and water supply safety, insect and rodent control, and emergency medical services and even security services.
Nursing services include staffing emergency shelters, first aid, children's medical service, and AIDS clinics must be put in place.
Laboratory services include testing/analysis of water samples, diagnostic tests, and coordination with other labs for specialized testing.
Administrative activities would also support all functions and provide necessary supplies and equipment to meet the EHERP's responsibilities.
.......to be cont'd.

-EHSadvisor's blog

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ADVISOR'S BLOG: WHY OPEN BURNING OF PLASTIC IS HAZARDOUS

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ADVISOR'S BLOG: WHY OPEN BURNING OF PLASTIC IS HAZARDOUS

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ADVISOR'S BLOG: WHY OPEN BURNING OF PLASTIC IS HAZARDOUS

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ADVISOR'S BLOG: WHY OPEN BURNING OF PLASTIC IS HAZARDOUS

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH OFFICERS IN DISASTER RESPONSE

"SHOULD DISASTER STRIKE; BE PREPARED. PREPARE THE NIGERIA'S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SERVICE TODAY TO BETTER RESPOND TO EMERGENCIES"

To address this need, Environmental Health officers Association of Nigeria (EHOAN) must collaborate with other  public health / environmental health partners (both locally and abroad) to develop a sound, up to date comprehensive training program.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH TRAINING ON EMERGENCY RESPONSE (EHTER ) prepares Environmental health professionals by providing them with the knowledge, skills, and resources to address the environmental health concerns that result from emergencies and disasters.

Environmental health professionals perform many critical functions during emergency response and recovery, such as conducting shelter assessments, testing drinking water supplies, performing food safety inspections, and controlling disease-causing vectors in . 

In many organisations, Environmental health practitioners working there have specifically assigned responsibilities, such as hotels/ restaurant and other regulated premises inspection; water sanitation ; School inspection;  House to house inspection; industrial Hygiene inspection; waste management and wastewater management, etc . 
But during an emergency or disaster, however, EHOs are usually faced with challenges that requires them to address a wide range of environmental health issues (nuisances) as well as performing several other different roles, and even multitasking, including some roles that may be or seem unfamiliar at the time. This calls for regular training and retraining. With constant training, the EHOs will be well prepared and equipped to better respond to manage disaster sites or camps efficiently and effectively too.

Environmental health professionals all over the world play extremely important roles in all-hazards emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. Hence, their regular training and upto-date understanding of how mordern disasters impact on the environment is essential to protecting public health before, during, and after an emergency or disaster including terrorism impacted Environments. The scale and nature of disasters and emergencies are ever dynamic and must be tackled with current trainings, workshops, seminars etc..
It must be pointed out here that the Environmental Health Officers' traditional functions such as safeguarding drinking water supplies, controlling disease-causing vectors, conducting food safety inspections, and ensuring safe and healthy building environments, etc may be very challenging especially after extreme events or disaster.

Hence, the Environmental Health Practitioners must be provided with regular trainings so as to be able to anticipate, recognize, and respond to many issues with upto-date scientific tools and equipment for better result.

Furthermore, Environmental Health Officers in Nigeria  need access to quality guidance, information, and resources that will assist them in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from the adverse impacts of emergencies and disasters. Hence the passionate request for a standard, Wifi (internet) enabled Environmental Health Library that is also equipped with modern training facilities to train and retrain on the EHOs and interns so as to uplift the standard of Environmental Health practice in Nigeria.

Every disaster (whether natural or man made) including terrorism impacted sites provides a variety of disaster related issues/nuisances that are usually grouped according to specific environmental health-related nuisace categories and issues. Because environmental health is a system in which different areas are interconnected, there may be some overlap of functions of other ancillary professionals in these categories.

Inconclusion, It is very imperative to massively involve the Environmental Health Officers in Disaster response/management and also constantly provide the Environmental Health officers with the requisite upto-date training, guidance and information that will help better prepare the Environmental Health professionals in Nigeria, to protect public health and safety in the communities  before, during, and after an emergency or disaster has occurred.

NEED FOR ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH OFFICERS IN DISASTER EMERGENCY RESPONSE NEED ASSESSMENT, PLANNING & MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA

In performing their daily statutory duties, Environmental health Officers have the task of protecting the public's health from harmful elements in the environment. Environmental health officers are known to be saddled with the responsibility diserster/nuisance  prevention and abatement. When emergencies or disaster occurs, the environment and the impacted communities is usually faced with high magnitude of Environmental issues (nuisances) and response needs.

Whether a disaster event is nature-made or man-made or combination of both, Environmental Health Officers have an important role to play in the follow up emergency response. Issues related to food, water, air quality, waste, vector control and building Environment will always exist.

The failure of sanitary conditions of IDP camps and post flood nuisances are clear cases of non inclusion of Environmental health officers to manage the said camp environment and living conditions of displaced persons professionally. Most times, political big wigs have been known to highjack Emergency Response facilities for pecuniary gains. For instance is the inflated multimillion naira grass cutting contract involving the sacked Secretary to the Federal government, Abbah Kyari. Environmental Health practitioners must be actively involved in local and state emergency response planning efforts. 

Emergencies vary greatly from region to region and city to city. For example, communities that are near chemical plants face unique emergency response challenges than those companies located far away. 

The planning processes of Emergency response should begin at the local level in determining the events that are most likely to occur in the community and developing appropriately local response plans, deciding who will respond and how, determining staffing and equipment needskills practicing plan implementation.

The states in Nigeria should as a matter of urgency, establish the state emergency management agencies (SEMA) the Local Emergency management agencies (LEMA) to handle  emergency response needs effectively as at when due.

 Also, Environmental Health Officers must be drafted/recruited to constitute the bulk of the staff as its their traditional duties.  Environmental health professionals in Nigeria should be regularly trained like their counterparts in the UK, Australia, and the US so as  to afford them the understanding of how their skills are needful, in responding to emergency events. 

The assessment of shelters for the 2005 hurricane evacuees in the US is a great example of the use of these skills. Many of the Environmental health issues that existed in the shelters were the same as those that practitioners inspect and assess during their regular day to day duties. These issues includes safe food preparation, safe/adequate supply of water, infection control/handwashing, solid waste disposal, and adequate sanitation facilities. Ensuring that these issues are addressed quickly and that  systems are functioning properly is essential for protecting the health and safety of shelter/camp occupants and visitors.

Since emergency response is centered around the statutory duties of Environmental health Officers, and  emergencies frequently require Environmental health Officers to be flexible and apply their skills and knowledge across several areas of Environmental health (eg food, water, waste, air quality, vector control) by bringing it to bear in Emergency Response Needs. EHOs and EH Practitioners should be given adequate opportunities to respond professionally to disasters/terrorism related Emergency response needs which actually calls for their regular training/review to the basics of mordern Disaster Response needs (including terrorism impacted Response needs) and should be aware of all technical updates. 

At the 2006 National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) Annual Educational conference, a two-and-a-half day course titled "Environmental Health In Disaster Response-Leve1" provided the very basic review and technical updates needed for Environmental Health Practitioners in the US. This really proved helpful to the US Environmental Health service. Nigeria must learn from that and key in.

 The decision about when it is safe to re-enter and reoccupy a premises or a community after an emergency situation presents many challenges. Environmental health practitioners are well trained to know how to evaluate a variety of Environmental issues (eg., food, water, waste, air quality, pest/vector control etc); they address a variety of Environmental health issues in their daily jobs and can translate science into practice.

During, emergencies and response needs, they have the ability to collect, analyze, and translate Environmental data. These abilities are a great asset for decision makers. Experienced Environmental health practitioners are needed to lead the Environmental health response to emergency events. Establishing and maintaining strong Environmental health programs at the local and state levels helps to ensure that this leadership is reliably in place always and closer to the people..

ADJUSTMENT OF WAHEB TIMETABLE

This is to inform all candidates that the time table has been adjusted by WAHEB....7:30am-1:00pm on Friday... so as to allow Muslim faithful to perform their obligations to Allah (SWT) I want to thank the Registrar and the Board members for this consideration.
Give it a widest publicity it deserves.
Thanks
San. ODETAYO KAZEEM ADEBUKOLA.