Hygienic status of centralized temporary settlements in Yiliang urban area of Yunnan province after September 7, 2012 earthquake:a rapid risk assessment

Objective To assess public health situation and requirement of health resources of centralized temporary settles in urban areas of Yiliang after a M_S 5.7 earthquake for making effective infectious disease control and prevention.Methods All of the 9 centralized temporary settlements in urban areas of Yiliang were investigated with a questionnaire survey combined with field study during September 11-14, 2012.Results All the earthquake victims were settled in tents of the centralized temporary settlements.All the victims residing in the settlements were supplied with standardized packaged water as drinking water and tap water was used in daily life among the victims settled in 8 of settlements.The food for the victims were basically from the government supply or social donation and 5 settlements provided uniformly processed food and dishes to the victims.Regular environmental disinfection was carried in 8 of the settlements and fixed garbage collection sites were set up but some garbage was not collected and removed timely in some settlements.The density of mosquitoes, flies and other vectors was very low in all settlements.Temporary medical posts were established in 7 settlements and registration and symptom monitoring of infectious diseases were carried out at all the medical posts.Conclusion There were some required improvements for hygienic status at centralized temporary settlements in Yiliang urban areas to reduce the risk of infectious disease epidemic among earthquake victims.