China says post-quake health situation still grim

BEIJING (Reuters) - The health situation in parts of China hit by the massive earthquake in May remains grim though there have been no epidemics, the government said on Friday.

The 7.9 magnitude quake struck the southwestern province of Sichuan, killing about 70,000 people and making more than 10 million homeless.

"We are still in a critical stage of quake relief at this moment. The health and epidemic prevention work is still grim. We still have arduous tasks ahead," the Health Ministry said in a statement.

"As many people have been assigned to live in temporary shelter, there is a serious shortage of public health facilities and hidden dangers in food and drinking water safety," it added.

"As it is the summer, with temperatures mounting, people are more susceptible to infectious diseases and heat stroke."

Health infrastructure, like hospitals and health clinics, has yet to get back totally on its feet.

But ministry spokesman Mao Qunan said rebuilding was on track.

"By the end of this year, medical services and epidemic prevention systems will be fully functioning with proper facilities, equipment and trained workers in the whole quake zone," he told a news conference.

"Efforts will be made to prevent major infectious diseases and public health incidents from happening," Mao added.

One of the main health problems faced by quake survivors was diarrhea, but Mao said the epidemic surveillance system was generally up and running and they would be able to pinpoint any outbreaks fast.

"The system has mostly been restored, so if there are any epidemics in the disaster zone, or any possible signs of one, we can track it, report it and get to the bottom of it in a timely way," he said.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Valerie Lee)