KUANTAN, Dec 23 — A total of 41 Health Clinics and Rural Clinics in Pahang have become out of reach due to the floods that began last Friday, says state Health director Datuk Dr Nor Azimi Yunus.

However, he said services were still being rendered to those in the surrounding areas that were not affected by the floods.

"A total of 1,671 people in our health department have been affected by the floods, and 552 of them are flood victims.

"Despite the constraints in terms of staff, internal mobilisation has been done to ensure that most services can run as usual,” he said in a post on his Facebook page today.

Dr Nor Azimi also informed that the state’s Health Department had prepared 174 medical teams and 130 health teams for monitoring purposes during the floods.

According to him, the department had conducted inspections and screenings on 23,227 people as of yesterday, and so far, no unusual incidents or illnesses had been detected at the relief centres.

He said flood victims at relief centres were also advised to continue adhering to standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent the spread of Covid-19, while members of the public are reminded to obtain water and food supplies from clean sources.

"The dense environment at relief centres is very risky in terms of contracting infections such as chickenpox, measles and hand and foot and mouth disease (HFMD),” he said.

According to Dr Nor Azimi, conjunctivitis can also be easily spread through the sharing of personal items such as towels and pillows.

Dirty floodwater is also feared to be contaminated, with a very high risk of contracting infections such as leptospirosis, melioidosis, food poisoning, typhoid and cholera.

"Practice good personal hygiene as well as proper waste disposal. Not only is it good for Covid-19 prevention, but also to prevent the risk of other diseases such as dengue fever and malaria, because stagnant areas after floods can be breeding grounds for mosquitoes,” he said. — Bernama