34 000 die in Chinese quake--but authorities say major disease outbreak avoided

doi:10.1136/bmj.39587.419317.DB

BMJ 2008;336:1151 (24 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.39587.419317.DB

News

34 000 die in Chinese quake—but authorities say major disease outbreak avoided

Jane Parry

¹ Hong Kong

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Thousands of healthcare workers from across China have beendeployed in Sichuan province in a bid to treat injuries andhelp prevent epidemics of infectious disease in survivors ofthe magnitude 8.0 earthquake that struck on May 12.

The official death toll on Sunday May 18 was 34 073. More than245 000 people were reported injured and 52 934 had been admittedto hospital. The Ministry of Health reported that it had dispatched5850 medical staff to affected townships and that two 400 bedfield hospitals had been set up in isolated areas.

In contrast to military junta rulers in Burma (also known asMyanmar), the Chinese government has welcomed overseas assistance.Donations from overseas topped the $860m (£441m; ${euro}$ 554m)mark within a week of the earthquake, and non-governmental organisationssuch as the World Health Organization and the Red Cross areworking closely with the Chinese authorities to coordinate . . . [Full text of this article]