Health authorities warn about possible outbreak of diseases

Health authorities warn about possible outbreak of diseases

BELGRADE -- VMA Department of Preventive Medicine chief Sonja Radaković says "personal and collective hygiene" is key to suppress, prevent and control infectious diseases.

Commenting on the situation in the wake of the disastrous floods in Serbia, this expert with the military clinic VMA told the RTS that preventive medical care requires the use of safe drinking water, and good personal and food hygiene.

A priority is to remove waste materials safely, and not form temporary landfills and dumping grounds, she warned.

According to Radaković, the weather that is now humid and warm will result in an increased number of mosquitoes and rodents. The authorities will have to undertake mosquito control measures after the complete withdrawal of flood waters, she said.

Households are also advised to protect themselves from mosquitoes with repellents, while citizens should stay indoors during the time of day when these insects, which spread the West Nile virus, are most active.

The virus has symptoms similar to ordinary flu, and only in rare cases can have serious consequences, Radaković noted, and added she expects various diseases that spread through contact to emerge, including hepatitis.

Another "companion" of this type of disaster are snakes, but the VMA expert said that if an area did not have poisonous snakes before the floods, they will not appear there now.

Radaković said that teams of the Ministry of Defense and the Serbian Army on Wednesday "carried out their tasks in Obrenovac in coordination with the Crisis HQ."

A preventive medical team was dispatched to Obrenovac today to do a...