Challenges and countermeasures for emergency medical rescue in Yushu earthquake

In April 10, 2010, an earthquake measuring magnitude 7.1 shocked Yushu County,Qinghai province. For medical rescue, the National Earthquake Disaster Emergency Rescue Team was sent to Yushu right away. Rescue work in Yushu was faced with such difficulties as short preparative time, heavy workload, high exposure to various acute high altitude diseases (AHAD), and a number of other diseases frequently found on the cold plateau. To ensure the rescue work a success, the team took a series of measures including efficient preparative procedure, scientific and logical procedure in the emergency medical aid operations, reliable and effective handling of AHADs, along with sufficient self protection for team members. Key words: Earthquake disaster;  Medical rescue;  Healthcare on plateau;  Yushu of Qinghai