Fighting epidemics 'still big task'

Health workers are facing an uphill battle to contain epidemics in regions devastated by last month's earthquake, although no major disease outbreaks have so far been reported, Minister of Health Chen Zhu said yesterday.

As summer approaches, the threat of infectious diseases, which often thrive in warm weather, increases, and those suffering from injury are most at risk, he told a meeting of health officials from across the country.

"Thanks to the efforts of disease prevention and control workers, there is no suggestion from our epidemic surveillance system that the number of cases of communicable diseases in the quake zone is any higher than last year," he said.