The World Health Organization says quake-hit victims in Pakistan lack safe drinking water posing a serious threat of disease.
The Geneva-based United Nations agency is appealing to the international community for hundreds of thousands of liters of potable water to ensure health of survivors, to avert epidemics, and for hygiene in health facilities where the injured face fatal infections.
The agency stressed the need for urgent action as victims continue to come in with infected open fractures and gangrene.
The number of injured is now estimated at 60,000, most whose homes in the mountains have been destroyed just weeks before the onset of winter. The agency said the worsening weather and enormous damage to roads, water and sanitation facilities are compounding to make the earthquake "the most difficult disaster to respond to in recent memory."
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
