Disease strikes flood-hit Bangladesh

Posted Wed Aug 8, 2007 10:16pm AEST

Bangladesh is struggling to contain outbreaks of water-borne disease as waters recede following major flooding and monsoon rains.

Health spokesman Aisha Akhter says at least 18,300 people suffering from diarrhoea have been admitted to hospitals across the country in the past eight days because of a lack of clean drinking water.

She says there have also been outbreaks of respiratory, skin and eye diseases over the past week, and reports of more than 4,000 new cases of water-borne diseases in the past 24 hours.

Shahadat Hossain, a doctor at the country's largest diarrhoea hospital in the capital, Dhaka, says the situation is acute and alarming.

The hospital admitted 691 patients on Monday, compared with an average 300 to 400 per day

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