By Shan Juan (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-07 08:43

CHENGDU, Sichuan -- The WHO's Chief Representative to China Dr Hans Anders Troedsson on Friday called for unremitting efforts to defuse lingering health risks in the aftermath of the May 12 earthquake.

Despite rising cases of diarrhea at the quake zones, there are no signs of any epidemic outbreaks thanks to preventive measures and high awareness among the health workers in disease containment, he told China Daily in Chengdu, at the end of his trip to the quake-hit province.

The top priority for a long time to come will be the provision of clean water, good sanitation and safe food, he noted.

"As these, if contaminated, are the key transmission routes for infectious diseases.

"These things seem to have been well addressed, but the effort needs to be sustained," Troedsson said.

Currently, the overall disaster relief work is in a transition period before reconstruction, he said.

The transition period will last for a year or two, "when we need to provide basic healthcare services for the displaced population and multitude quake victims, including disease prevention", he said.

The risk of disease outbreaks will remain as long as there are makeshift houses and high densities of people, he said.

"I'm very pleased to see that health authorities at local and central level have already heeded the point and are mulling over the appropriate measures," he noted.

"If these issues are handled properly in the future, I think the risk of epidemic outbreaks will be low."

Troedsson said he was deeply impressed by the rescue and relief work.

"It's a huge disaster however, we've seen very well organized and effective rescues and now satisfactory basic healthcare provision," he said, citing the Chengdu-based Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital as an example.

Of the 2,500 injured quake survivors that have been treated there, the mortality rate is less than 1 percent.

"It's extremely impressive even compared with developed countries," Troedsson, a physician-turned WHO official, said.

His visit mainly focused on treatment facilities and healthcare management.