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South Asia Quake: Risk of epidemic high in aftermath of disaster: MSF

Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) warned yesterday there was a risk of an epidemic of water-borne disease in Muzaffarabad, the quake-devastated capital of Pakistani Kashmir.

The Paris-based aid group's chief in Islamabad, Isabelle Simpson, said that water supplies could become contaminated because of quake damage, "which is why we worry that that could lead then to outbreaks of other water-borne diseases."

"Especially as very few people have shelter up there, they're crowding into homes and camp-type situations, so there's a lot of potential for health risks," she said.

Aid trickling in

Aid has begun to trickle into Muzaffarabad after the only roads linking it with the outside world were opened late Monday but the city where at least 11,000 are confirmed dead is still in chaos.

MSF workers who reached the city were still assessing the situation but "Muzaffarabad itself they consider to be much more destroyed than anticipated," Simpson said.

"It's early days yet but we have to be very aware that they need at least clean water for drinking purposes," she added.

"At the moment we're setting up emergency clinics, we still have a lot of people and supplies coming in, it's very early days in terms of access that we can get," Simpson said.

Supplies needed

UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team spokesman Andrew MacLeod said that aid workers were desperately trying to get supplies of fresh water into the area.

"In catastophes like these where there are so many dead bodies there is an incredible risk of major disease," he said.
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