By Shan Juan (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-20 09:20

How survivors are managed, rather than how the dead are handled, determines whether epidemics break out in the wake of major natural disasters, World Health Organization Representative to China Hans Troedsson said.

Caring for the dead is not a primary health responsibility in those areas of Sichuan devastated by last week's earthquake, he said, refuting the misconception that corpses constitute a major source of disease.

"There is no public health threat from dead bodies," he said.

The Ministry of Health's guidelines on the disposal of bodies stipulate that corpses should be covered with lime and areas around them sprayed with disinfectant.

"These operations are costly, time consuming, require complicated logistics and coordination, take staff away from caring for survivors and are totally unnecessary," Troedsson said, adding that the government's overall response to the immense health and logistical challenges, particularly in Beichuan county, had been appropriate.

"(But) the unnecessary diversion of staff and resources at a critical time was caused mainly by the wrong beliefs about corpses," he said.

Feng Zijian, director of the emergency response department of the Chinese Center of Disease Prevention and Control, disagreed.

Although Troedsson is right in theory, he fails to consider taboos relating to dead bodies and such practical discomforts as the overwhelming stench of rotting flesh, he said.

"The measures taken also protect the health and feelings of workers involved in the disposal of bodies," he said.

Civil affairs staff, with technical guidance from medical staff, are now responsible for handling corpses, Feng said.

"The main needs now are ensuring the supply of safe food and drinking water and trying to restore good sanitation," Troedsson said.

Feng said the harsh conditions caused by mass displacement - overcrowding, little access to potable water and inadequate hygiene in toilets and food preparation areas - were conducive to the transmission of waterborne and food-borne diseases.

The Ministry of Health has outlined an epidemic control and response plan including safe water and food distribution methods, enhanced epidemic surveillance and control of any identified outbreaks.

Sichuan health authorities have sent about 300 disease prevention and control teams, as well as 200 health inspection and enforcement squads.