Post-quake China on alert against disease

MIANYANG, China (Reuters) - More than 5,000 health workers have fanned out to disinfect China's earthquake-hit villages, and doctors and nurses are stationed round the clock in refugee camps to try to prevent survivors from falling sick.

At a sports stadium in Mianyang, housing more than 20,000 survivors, an old man watches his wife grimace after downing a small vial of traditional Chinese medicine.

"This is very good, it will stop you from getting sick now that your immune system is weak," muttered a nurse as she waved the couple away.

A Mianyang health official stationed at the stadium said authorities were well aware of the risks involved in running such a densely populated camp but there were few other options.

The stadium refugees are from Beichuan, a town that was almost completely obliterated by the 7.9 magnitude quake which struck southwest China on May 12. The number of dead and missing has risen above 80,000.

Authorities made a snap decision to relocate Beichuan residents en masse when fears arose that a nearby dam could burst. They moved into the stadium two days after the quake.

Foreign health experts warned early on of diarrhea outbreaks if there was no clean drinking water, as well as infections from physical injuries and outbreaks of respiratory and other diseases associated with crowded and unsanitary living conditions.

China seems to have taken heed.

The State Food and Drug Administration said on its website it had ordered urgent shipping to the quake area of 9 million doses of vaccines for hepatitis A, Japanese encephalitis, hemorrhagic fever, cholera and other diseases.

"We are most worried about plague, so environmental hygiene is of top importance. Such a huge movement of people inevitably means that all sorts of viruses and bacteria move with them. We are also afraid of meningitis," the Mianyang health official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

PLAGUE FEARS

Plague is carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas. Meningitis, an inflammation of membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, is caused by bacteria and viruses. It can be fatal without prompt treatment.

"We have isolated cases of diarrhea, heat exhaustion, fever and influenza. If there is an outbreak of any sort in this camp, which is conceivable because of the high density, medical staff are here to put a stop to it. Nothing can escape us.

"That's why we have so many doctors here. They are here to prevent any trouble," the official said.

Nearby, a large team of volunteers toting heavy canisters of pesticide and disinfectant patrol the camp every two hours.

"We disinfect blackspots like trash bins, toilets, drains and all shaded areas with bleach and pesticides. The areas exposed to the sun are okay, because ultraviolet light kills germs," said the chief of the Public Health and Disease Prevention Team.