Military Hygiene and Hygiene in Emergency Situations - K.O. Pashka 2005

Fundamentals of the organization of sanitary and hygienic measures in the ground forces during peacetime emergencies and wartime. Hygiene of field quartering of troops and the population.

The purpose of Sanitary and hygienic measures is to preserve and strengthen the health of personnel (the affected population), maintain a sufficient level of combat readiness and working capacity of the personnel of troops and units of the separate non-military service of the Ministry of Ukraine of Emergencies (the population) by enforcing current hygiene standards and rules regarding the Organization of billeting, Nutrition, Water supply, creating safe working conditions for servicemen (emergency response liquidators and the population), and their laundry and bath services, as well as the burial of those who died in combat or during emergencies.

All commanders (heads of enterprises and institutions), heads of the medical service (public health authorities), and other services are responsible for organizing and implementing sanitary and hygienic measures aimed at preserving and strengthening the health and combat readiness (working capacity) of military units, as well as units of the separate non-military service of the Ministry of Emergencies¹ (the affected population). In addition, the medical service (public health authorities) is tasked with methodological guidance and sanitary supervision during the Structure/175.html">Implementation of sanitary and hygienic measures. The scope and content of sanitary and hygienic measures depend on the combat and rear-area environment (the situation in emergency areas), as well as on the sanitary and hygienic state of military, rescue, and other units (population groups) and their areas of operation (deployment).

¹ "Military units, as well as units of the separate non-military service of the Ministry of Emergencies," hereinafter referred to as units.

Sanitary supervision over the timeliness, completeness, and effectiveness of sanitary and hygienic measures is carried out using the forces and assets of the heads of medical services of military and civil units, the state Sanitary and epidemiological services of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, as well as other agencies.

The Scope of sanitary supervision includes:

- medical control² over the health status of unit personnel (the health level of the population), billeting conditions, and the Organization of nutrition, water supply, and compliance with personal and public hygiene requirements;

- control over compliance with hygienic requirements when unit personnel and the population operate under the harmful influence of various factors (ionizing radiation, electromagnetic fields, aggressive liquids, etc.);

- control over bath and laundry services for units and the population;

- conducting sanitary and epidemiological expertise and control over the quality of food and water analyses performed by laboratories of the veterinary, food, chemical, and engineering services;

- control over compliance with sanitary and hygienic requirements during the clearance of battlefields (emergency areas), the burial of those killed in combat or As a result of disasters, and those who died from injuries and illnesses.

The objectives of sanitary supervision are achieved through:

- continuous monitoring of the sanitary and hygienic state of units and the population, combat (emergency) and deployment areas, as well as control over the organization and implementation of sanitary and hygienic measures;

- conducting sanitary and epidemiological expertise of food and water to determine their suitability for consumption and drinking, as well as other sanitary and hygienic studies necessitated by the situation;

- summarizing the results of monitoring and Laboratory tests and providing their hygienic evaluation;

- drafting proposals for sanitary and hygienic measures to report to the command (management) and organizing control over their implementation.

² Medical control is a set of measures carried out by the medical service (public health authorities) to preserve and strengthen the health of unit personnel (the population), ensure the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of troops (population groups), which is achieved by exercising constant control over compliance with established requirements for the professional and living conditions of servicemen (the population), adherence to sanitary and hygienic norms and rules, conducting control medical check-ups and examinations and relevant preventive and anti-epidemic measures within units (among the population), as well as dynamic medical observation of the health status of designated professional groups of servicemen (the population) and individuals who have suffered from infectious diseases.

Monitoring of the sanitary and hygienic state of units and the population is carried out by the forces and assets of the heads of medical services and sanitary-epidemiological institutions of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. At the same time, the medical service of the units is itself an object of state sanitary and epidemiological supervision.

Based on comparing data from medical control over the health status of unit personnel and the population with the specific conditions of their activity and daily life, representatives of these agencies identify factors that adversely affect the health of supervised persons, develop proposals for necessary sanitary and hygienic measures, and report them to the command (management) and senior medical service superiors for inclusion in rear-area, medical, and Other types of support plans. It is mandatory to exercise control over the quality, timeliness, and completeness of the approved measures.

Sanitary and hygienic measures within units and among the population are planned, organized, and implemented based on an Assessment of the sanitary and hygienic state of the units (population groups) and their deployment areas.

The sanitary and hygienic state of units and the population and their deployment areas are assessed taking into account Factors affecting the health and combat readiness (working capacity) of the personnel (population) based on an Analysis of the following baseline data:

- the structure and morbidity rates among unit personnel and population groups;

- the results of sanitary-epidemiological, radiation, chemical, and biological reconnaissance;

- Materials of sanitary supervision over the living support of unit personnel and the population (billeting, nutrition, water supply, bath and laundry services, etc.);

- the possibility of introducing infectious disease pathogens into the unit (population group) and the presence of conditions that facilitate the spread of infection among personnel (the population).