People In South Thailand Face Health Scares

People in tsunami-affected areas face health scares

PHANG NGA, Jan 1 (TNA) - Residents in Thailand's southern coastal provinces hit by last week's tsunamis should avoid drinking or using water from areas where dead bodies have been found, Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan has advised.

The authorities are setting up emergency running-water systems and toilets in the affected areas as part of an attempt to prevent an epidemic, Mrs. Sudarat said.

But people should also take care of their health to prevent catching respiratory diseases, the minister stressed.

Local residents should wear protective masks when exposed to the stench of decaying corpses, she suggested.

The public health minister again dismissed foreign press reports that corpes were secretly burnt to reduce the total death toll.

None of the unidentified bodies have been cremated, she said.

The bodies that have been cremated were all Thais and the cremations were carried out at the request of their relatives, she affirmed.

--TNA 2005-01-01