Environmental health management

for
food safety, vector and pest control,
control of communicable disease
and prevention of epidemic
during crisis
Farhana Nr
Environmental Health Management
For Food Safety During Crisis
Following a disaster, food supply lines may
become disrupted.
• People may be forced to
flee to areas where they
have no access to food.

• Breakdown of water
supply and electricity
hamper storage and food
preparation.
• Crops may be
destroyed in the
fields and animals
may be drowned.

• Food may become

contaminated by surface
water that has itself been
contaminated by sewage
and wastewaters.
• Pest and stray animals
may also increase in
numbers and
contaminate the food

• Food may be damaged

be smoke, chemicals
used in fire fighting or
other chemicals released.
Impact
 Vulnerability analysis
• Vulnerability is generally defined as a
measure of the susceptibility of an
element or combination of elements
to fail once they are exposed to
potentially damaging natural
phenomena.
• Vulnerability analysis should be
carried out in institutions and
infrastructure if the effects of natural
disaster would cause an emergency
situation or place demands on the
system that would exceed response
capacity.
Food control measure
• Ensure that foods that have not been
affected are adequately protected, are
not exposed to other sources of
contamination, and are not kept under
conditions in which bacterial growth may
occur.
• Assess the extent and type of damage to
food and separate/recondition
salvageable food.
• Unsalvageable food should be disposed of
properly.
• Assess contamination of crops and
establish measures, such as delayed
harvesting and thorough cooking, to
reduce the risk of transmitting
faecal pathogens.
• Assess water bodies used for fishing
or for harvesting water vegetables,
to prevent the spread of fish
tapeworms or parasitic flukes, or of
diseases such as salmonella and
cholera.
• Before resuming operation, food
businesses should be monitored to
ensure they have regained the
ability to ensure food safety.
Control measure for ensuring food safety
 Supply/purchase Receipt of food Storage

Hazard: Contamination of Hazard: Contamination of

raw/ready- to-eat food high-risk foods with Hazard: Further contamination
pathogens
Action: Obtain food from 1. Store foods wrapped or in
Action: Control
a reliable supplier. closed container.
conditions of transport
2. Control pest.
3. Control temperature and
duration of storage. Rotate stock.
 Preparation Preparation Cooking
Hazard: Further contamination,
via hands or in other ways Hazard: Growth of Hazard: Survival of
bacteria pathogens
Action: 1. Wash hands before
handling food. Action: Limit time of Action: Make sure that
2. Prevent cross-contamination exposure of food to room food is cooked
via surfaces, cooking utensils. temperature. thoroughly.
3. Separate cooked food from raw
foods.
4. Used boiled water, particularly
if the food is not subjected to
subsequent cooking.
Cooling and cold holding Hot holding
Hazard: 1. Growth of surviving
bacteria or their spores, Hazard: Growth of
production of toxins . surviving bacteria or
2. Contamination from various their spores,
sources production of toxins
Action: 1. Cool food as quickly
as possible to temperature Ensure that food is
below 5°C. kept hot above 60°C
2. Avoid overfilling the
refrigerator or cold storage
room.
3. Monitor the temperature of
cold storage room.
 Reheating Serving
Hazard: Survival of Hazard: 1. Contamination
bacteria. 2. Growth of bacteria,
spores, production of toxins.
Action: Ensure that the
food is thoroughly Action: 1. Ensure that food is
reheated. thoroughly reheated.
2. Prevent contact with raw
foods, unclean utensils and
non-potable water.
3. Do not touch with hands.
4. Serve food when it is still
hot.
 Mass feeding centre
• Employees and volunteers who are preparing
foods should not be suffering from an illness
with any of the following symptoms: jaundice,
diarrhoea, vomiting, fever, sore throat, skin
lesions or discharge from the ears, eyes or nose.

• All personnel should be aware of the

importance of observing the rules for safe food
handling.

• All food-handlers should be instructed to report

to their supervisor anyone suffering from an
illness with any of the symptoms mentioned
above.
• Posters aimed at reminding staff about
the rules of safe food handling should
be placed at strategic places in the
food preparation area.

• The local health committee has an

important role in facilitating safe
community feeding activities.

• Kitchens and eating areas should be

sturdy, well-roofed and well-ventilated
structures, in areas of the settlement
with good access and space for users
to wait for meals.
 Facilities needed at mass-feeding centres
• Water supplies.
• Toilets.
• Hand washing facilities.
• Facilities for dealing with
liquid and solid wastes from
kitchen.
• Basins, tables, chopping
blocks.
• Facilities for dish washing.
• Adequate and appropriate
materials for
cooking/refrigeration.
• Layout to prevent cross-
contamination.
• Adequate and appropriate
materials for eating.
• Control of rodents and other
pests.
Environmental Health Management For
Vector And Pest Control During Crisis
 Situation
• Disasters may give rise to increases in the
populations of vector or nuisance species,
eg insects or rodents.
• Floods may create new mosquito breeding
sites in disaster rubble and stagnant pools.
• A general breakdown of sanitation may
favour the multiplication of houseflies and
rodents.
• When wild or domestic host animals have
been killed or driven away by disaster,
ectoparasites, such as ticks, bugs, lice and
fleas, may invade a community and
produce a serious additional risk of
zoonotic vector-borne disease.
 Impact: Example of disease outbreak during
crisis
Mosquitoes Malaria, dengue, yellow fever
Flies Diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid fever
Cockroaches Diarrhea, dysentery, salmonellosis, cholera
Rodents Leptospirosis, salmonellosis, melioidosis, rat bite
fever
Lice Endemic typhus, pediculosis, trench fever
Bedbugs Severe skin inflammation
Ticks Rickettsial fever, tularaemia, viral encephalitis
Environmental management for vector and
pest control
WHO defines it as:

The modification or manipulation of environmental conditions,

or of their interaction with the human population, with a view to
preventing or minimizing vector propagation and reducing
human–vector–pathogen contact

(WHO, 1980)
 The benefit of environmental management for
vector and pest control in disasters and emergencies
• There is no risk of intoxication or
environmental contamination from the
inappropriate management of chemicals

• The results are often longer lasting and

will contribute to vulnerability reduction
and improvements in public health

• There are no problems of pesticide

resistance
 Environmental management measures for
control of mosquito breeding:
• Levelling land

• Filling borrow pits

• Draining flooded areas

• Cover/mesh, screening of water

containers

• Removing floating debris and plants

from lagoons.
Environmental management measures against
flies:
• Kitchen hygiene should be top
priority.

• Rubbish should be removed or

burned at least once a week to avoid
the build-up of housefly populations.

• Defecation fields should be kept at a

distance from cooking areas to
prevent flies.
Environmental management Environmental management
measures against cockroaches. measures against rodents

• Keep kitchen is clean condition. • Rat-proofing of houses and storage

• All food leftovers should be removed facilities

or stored properly at night. • Removal rubbish

• Keep kitchen clean

Environmental Control of Communicable
Disease and Prevention of Epidemic
During Crisis
 The most common causes of death in
emergencies and disasters are:
Globally, there are: In Malaysia, there are:
• Diarrhoea • Cholera
• Acute respiratory infection • Typhoid
• Measles • Hepatitis A
• Malnutrition • Leptospirosis
• Malaria • Diarrhea
• Food poisoning
 Situation: Communicable diseases in
emergencies and disasters
• Flooding cause an increase in waterborne and
vector-borne diseases
• High winds, storms, mud slides and
earthquakes leave standing water or pollute,
or interrupt drinking-water supplies. Excess
standing water can promote the breeding of
insect disease vectors, or contaminate water
supplies with waste or sewage. Communicable
• Both natural disasters and armed conflict may diseases
result in the breakage of water mains or the
interruption of electricity supplies required to
pump water. Sewer pipes and sewage
treatment works may also be broken or
rendered inoperable.
• Crowding victims living in crowded temporary
accommodation without adequate ventilation
or adequate facilities for personal hygiene and
laundry.
Assessment
• At an early stage in the emergency response, an assessment should
be made of vector-borne disease risks and pest nuisance, and the
scope for their control using the techniques available.
• These three conditions need to be assessed to justify a major
environmental management activity:
✓The presence of the vector
✓The prevalence of the disease organism
✓The susceptibility of the population
 Healthy environment
• Clean water
• Adequate sanitation
• Vector control
• Shelter

Control of
communicable
diseases depends Immunization
on:

Trained health
worker
Outbreak control
The two main strategies for
controlling outbreaks of • reduce mortality due to the disease
communicable disease are to: through early case detection and
• reduce the number of cases effective treatment.
through preventive activities
• reduce mortality due to the
disease through early case
detection and effective
treatment.
They key to effective outbreak control is a rapid
response, before the outbreak develops into a
major epidemic.
Preventive and curative measures
work together to reduce the sources
of infection by:

• rapidly isolating and treating

patients and controlling animal
reservoirs;
• to protect susceptible groups
through immunization, nutritional
support and possibly
chemoprophylaxis
• to reduce transmission through
improvements in hygiene
conditions and hygiene behaviour.
Risk reduction
• Vulnerability analysis