New York, Mar 2 2010 11:10AM
The death toll from the strongest earthquake to strike Chile in more than 50 years officially stands at 723 people, the public health arm of the United Nations in the region said today, as it assesses the healthcare needs of survivors.
Some 80 per cent of the South American country's population was affected by the 8.8-magnitude quake, which occurred just off the coast of Chile in the early hours of Saturday morning, according to the Pan American Health Organization (<"http://new.paho.org/hq/index.php?lang=en">PAHO).
PAHO, the regional office of the UN World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO), reported that health care services continue to meet the immediate needs on the ground, with the Government mainly concerned about re-establishing routine services – dialysis, chemotherapy and radiation among others – before patient health is jeopardized.
Four of the seven hospitals in the worst hit of the six affected regions – Maule, which has suffered 544 deaths to date – are too badly damaged to function, but the majority of the 76 hospitals in the rest of the disaster zone are operating without major difficulties, said PAHO.
PAHO is coordinating with neighbouring countries which are offering temporary health facilities, with Argentina and Brazil committed to sending field hospitals which can be up and running within 24 hours, and Peru pledging to send a field hospital with surgical capacity and in-patient hospital care.
In addition, the Government has requested 800,000 doses of the Hepatitis A vaccine to avoid an outbreak, and PAHO is seeking to secure a donation from pharmaceutical producers.
Mar 2 2010 11:10AM
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