Millions of people hit by severe flooding in Guangxi province are in desperate need of medical supplies.
Many victims had fallen sick with respiratory illnesses from pneumonia to the common cold, Justine Geldard, of Medecins Sans Frontieres, said yesterday. Others had dysentery.
Drinking water contaminated by sewage flooding into underground wells would lead to more cases of dysentery and even cholera, she said.
There was no sign of an epidemic yet, but Ms Geldard warned: 'There is a potential for the situation to get worse unless people get help.' She believed up to one million of the population of more than five million were at risk of disease if medical relief did not increase.
Thirty tonnes of chlorine, used to purify water, had been distributed in the worst affected areas, including the counties of Pingnan, Tengxian, Cangwu, Guiping and the autonomous city of Wuzhou. A further 45 tonnes were being delivered.
Medical kits which could cater for up to 80,000 people had been distributed.