Over 1,000 flood victims fall sick in mid-western Nepal

Over 1,000 flood victims fall sick in mid-western Nepal


www.chinaview.cn 2007-08-01 18:30:01 Print

KATHMANDU, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- More than 1,000 flood victims are suffering from various diseases in Bardiya district in mid-western Nepal, local media reported on Wednesday.

Doctors said that the victims are falling sick as there is no clean drinking water.

According to a leading website, the himalayantimes.com report, an epidemic looms in the district as the flood victims have been drinking polluted water, the Red Cross and District Public Health Office (DPHO) said.

Teams of health workers and medicines have not been sent to all the flood-affected areas yet, some 400 km west of Kathmandu, chief of the Bardiya chapter of Nepal Red Cross, Govinda Poudel, was quoted by the website as saying.

Around 1,200 victims are suffering from various diseases, Bardiya DPHO chief Ramashankar Deep said, adding that the diseases that have spread are diarrhoea, typhoid, conjunctivitis, flu, pneumonia and common cold.

"We went to two villages and found 200 patients. We are yet to visit other villages affected by the flood," Deep said.

"We have sent two teams of health workers that will tour the affected areas one by one," he added.

Even as the chances of the diseases spreading are increasing due to the polluted water, there is shortage of medicine, he said.


Editor: Jiang Yuxia