The May 12 8-magnitude earthquake caused damage to 87.7% of the health systems in the worst-hit Mianyang areas with 326 casualties and the direct economic loss of RMB 3 124 billion. Within 30 minutes after the earthquake, the Mianyang headquarters for earthquake disaster relief and the Mianyang public health headquarters for medical rescue and treatment were organized. Five medical teams were sent to Beichuang County, the worst-hit Mianyang area within four hours after the earthquake. A total of 22 947 wounded and sick were delivered to local hospitals after simple triage and rapid treatment through three station. By June 30, the Mianyang medical organisation had received 379 600 person times and admitted 21628 inpatients in total, including 2 772 severely-wounded (including 146 with limbs amputated and 846 dead during the stay). Since May 17, 3381 wounded had been transferred to 14 provincial and city-level hospitals across China. On June 20, the Mianyang Rehabilitation Center for wounded and sick people was established and received 156 rehabilitation inpatients and cured 32 ones. Together with the medical team for psychological intervention, they provided psychological support for victims for over 70 000 person times. Within two hours after the earthquake, the Mianyang Organisation for Health and Epidemic Control and Prevention launched the emergency response plan for major natural disasters, prepared and improved the technical scheme for disease prevention after the earthquake. The organisation rapidly sent out emergency teams for disease control and prevention and completed the following tasks: disinfection and burial of corpses and disposal of carcasses, monitoring of the water quality and epidemics, disinfection of environmental ruins, epidemic control in resettled areas, precaution of the secondary disasters caused by the earthquake and conduction of large-scale health education. The emergency command system for medical rescue and disease control and prevention in the worst-hit Mianyang areas after Wenchuan Earthquake integrated resources, carried out the unified command and responded rapidly. Moreover, the headquarter of medical relief coordinated and orderly unified the governmental and non-governmental organizations, which achieved good performance for both medical relief and anti-epidemic. The experience of earthquake medical relief will benefit the post-disaster reconstruction, as well as the establishment of national and regional emergency response systems.
The Wenchuan Earthquake caused severe injuries and deaths as well as subsequent serious potential risks to public health and hygiene in the worst-hit areas. There were 16 casualties in the Mianyang CDC system and the township amp; county CDC networks were destroyed in the worst-hit counties after the earthquake. The Mianyang CDC quickly launched its emergency response plan for major natural disasters within two hours after the earthquake, prepared and improved the technical guide for disease prevention after the earthquake and rapidly sent out quick response team. With the help of CDC aid teams across the country, Mianyang CDC successfully disinfected and buried 6,767,568 corpses, and disposed of millions of animal carcasses.They also disinfected and sterilised an area of 932.595 million square metres, eradicating 3,514,166 fly and mosquito breeding places and treating 5,254,228 cesspit times. By June 30, they had examined 11,092 water supply units and carried out disinfection of 319.7997 million cubic metres of drinking water. Besides, dynamic monitoring for water quality in the four worst-hit areas in Mianyang urban areas. They organised hygienic enforcement supervisors to develop food safety inspection, regulated catering services of the centralised settlements, destroyed spoiled and expired food and vegetables. The authorities prevented the masses from eating dead poultry or meat from carcasses to ensure no occurrence of food poisoning after the earthquake. Standard administration of the 170 settlements of the earthquake-afflicted people and 132 settlements of evacuated people was carried out in accordance with the rules of "Six Provisions and Four Reinforcements" and this would ensure no recurrence of public health events in the settlements. On Day 3 (May 15) after the earthquake, they established a real-time monitoring and report network of the epidemic situation after the earthquake and monitored diseases and symptoms of the people in the resettled region to ensure no occurrence of major epidemic cases. The monitoring results showed that the number of infectious disease cases was comparable to that in the previous years. Moreover, they carried out intensive vaccination with hepatitis A vaccine in children 41196 person times, stored 100,000 person oral cholera vaccine and monitoring for new sexually transmitted diseases. A total of 10.1265 million copies of publicity materials were organised printed and distributed. They developed large-scale health education and a massive patriotic health campaign by means of the media and organised the masses to engage in sanitation and hygiene as well as controlling flies, mosquitoes and rats in the temporary earthquake-proof places. Under the unified command of the Mianyang emergency response headquarters, the centers for health and epidemic control and prevention at various levels of disaster relief continued to dispose of carcasses and disinfect and bury corpses as well as monitor water quality, so as to ensure the secondary disasters could be prevented in advance.