Blue beret doctor in the "epicenter" of Africa

Doctor "lecturer" in Bentiu

Cholera outbreaks in Africa and South Sudan are one of the hot spots, Dr. Hung was assigned by the Hospital Board of Directors to plan and implement disease prevention and control measures in the unit as well as treat patients.

Sharing from Bentiu, the stationed area of Field Hospital 2.4, Dr. Hung said that in addition to directly planning, he and his colleagues in the department also do related professional work such as controlling domestic water sources and wastewater sources; killing flies and insects; reminding people to eat cooked food and drink boiled water; checking hygiene and food safety in the unit's kitchen...

According to Lieutenant Colonel, Doctor Vu Minh Duong, Director of Field Hospital 2.4, the risk of cholera infection in Bentiu cannot be ruled out because this place is not far from Malakal city, the capital of Upper Nile state of South Sudan, especially in the context of floodwaters still rising in the area and sources of infection can move to the area. Here, since February 22, 179 cases of cholera have been recorded and 1 death has been reported. A timely prevention and handling plan when an epidemic occurs in the area, including treatment regimens, setting up quarantine areas... is very important.

Dr. Hung shared that he and his colleagues at the Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases Department are familiar with such sudden anti-epidemic tasks and have experience in dealing with Covid-19 and malaria, but the most worrying thing is still having to control the source of infection well. As the most specialized medical unit in the Bentiu area, not only taking on the treatment of cases, Field Hospital 2.4 is considered a "shield" to protect the health of UN staff and the community against the risk of disease spread.

To effectively prevent and control the epidemic, it is not enough for our unit to do well, other units must also participate. Doctor Hung is always trusted by the Board of Directors to give medical lectures, guide and train other units on epidemic prevention and control measures; and participate in the Mission's hygiene inspection teams.

During the period when monkeypox was complicated in the world and Africa (where the disease originated), Dr. Hung was one of the members of the Hospital participating in training and updating knowledge for level 1 hospitals in the Mission. The enthusiasm in answering questions, sharing experiences and professional knowledge of Dr. Hung and his colleagues has created trust among other units, contributing to enhancing the reputation of Vietnam Level 2 Field Hospital.

Establish a group connecting doctors to prevent epidemics

With his prestige and expertise, Dr. Hung has built a group connecting doctors and epidemic prevention staff at level 1 field hospitals to facilitate professional exchanges as well as direct epidemic prevention work. According to Dr. Hung, doing a good job of prevention will reduce the burden on treatment work, contributing to ensuring the proportion of healthy staff to perform tasks. The initiative helps the hospital regularly and promptly grasp the epidemic situation at the Mission as well as the region, thereby developing a monthly epidemic prevention plan or when required.

Doctors also developed and added screening forms to classify infectious patients for high-risk diseases such as Covid-19, Ebola, monkeypox... right at the gate to classify patients, in order to minimize the risk of disease transmission to medical staff.

In South Sudan, the epidemic mainly breaks out during the rainy season, so the workload increases significantly. At the tense time of the Covid-19 epidemic, the unit has to quarantine and treat Covid-19 patients while also focusing on preventing and fighting malaria and digestive diseases.

Because the unit is surrounded by wild nature, during the rainy season, many snakes from low-lying areas are flooded, increasing the risk of being bitten by venomous snakes (100% of snakes in South Sudan are venomous and very venomous). The unit's water source is taken from a United Nations well, but the water quality is unstable, so it must be regularly checked and treated before being put into use.

Lieutenant Colonel Vu Minh Duong said that at such tense times of fighting the epidemic, Doctor Hung always promptly advised the unit commander on response measures in areas that could be said to be "epidemic on epidemic" and scientifically organized the epidemic prevention team to carry out their tasks most effectively.

The hard work of preventive medicine staff is always facing risks. The source of encouragement for Dr. Hung and his colleagues is that the unit controls malaria, Covid-19 epidemic as well as other infectious diseases, ensuring the health of the entire unit, preventing disease outbreaks in the area, and patients are in stable health when discharged from the hospital.

Doctor Hung said that a malaria patient from the Mongolian unit, after being hospitalized for a week, sent cakes to thank the Vietnamese doctors for helping him recover. When he was hospitalized, this patient had serious complications and was very tired; after being treated, the patient shared that he "felt like he was reborn". "Our joy is always being considered an important spiritual support for the patients here" - Major, Doctor Pham Van Hung expressed.

Doctor Pham Van Hung also often participates in medical examination, treatment and medicine distribution activities for local people outside the residential area and Bentiu Provincial Hospital. He confided: “When we go out, we see that people's lives are very miserable. The most pitiful are the children, who do not have enough food and are malnourished. Helping people makes us more motivated in our work and make efforts to contribute to the peacekeeping mission.”

MY HANH

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