Quake zone still disease free

Local authorities in quake-hit Lushan county, Sichuan Province, told the Global Times on Thursday there are no signs of an outbreak of infectious disease, as they continue to disinfect potential hazards and immunize the local population.

"We haven't discovered any outbreak of an infectious disease," said an official from the county's disease control and prevention center, who requested to be anonymous.

"Public health staff has been dispatched to spray disinfectant in the quake-hit zones every day, in order to prevent any outbreaks," Zou Bo, spokesman of the disaster relief team from the provincial health department, told the Global Times.

The increasing volume of garbage left by an influx of rescuers and the debris caused by the quake could threaten public health in quake-stricken areas, Yang Ronggang, leader of the relief team sent by the national health authorities, told the Global Times,

"The daily amount of waste is 20 times greater than before the quake. How to prevent it from rotting is a critical task," said Yang, adding that a group of public health workers have been dispatched to spray disinfectant in garbage dumps.

Water and electricity in Lushan has been restored, while some villages remain plagued by power blackouts.

In several villages in Baoxing county and Lushan, villagers are using water from the mountains, which experts, including Yang, said could pose a health hazard.

Meanwhile, damaged buildings continue to be checked and their status is being reported to local authorities to prevent people from entering structures that could collapse.

Local authorities listed on Thursday sections of roads that remain dangerous, warning drivers and passengers the roads could become impassable should there be landslides.

Roads linking Lingguan township and Baoxing continue to be hit by sporadic landslides.

"The region is surrounded by mountains and heavy precipitation could trigger additional dangers," said Lu Ming, an expert from the China Earthquake Administration.

On Tuesday, President Xi Jinping also urged officials to monitor and prevent additional disasters.

In response to reports that many houses rebuilt after the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008 still do not meet construction codes, Qiu Jian, head planner of the provincial housing and construction bureau, said none of the newer structures collapsed during Saturday's quake. Some 400 experts in building engineering have inspected them.

The Global Times reporter on the scene found school buildings and houses in Lushan rebuilt after the Wenchuan quake were seriously damaged by Saturday's tremor. School buildings and houses in Baoxing appear to suffer only slight damage.

Special report: 7.0-magnitude earthquake jolts Ya'an, Sichuan