MUZAFFARABAD, Nov 10: Around 200 cases of acute diarrhoea have been found in one camp of quake survivors in Muzaffarabad over the past five days, but the outbreak has been contained with improved care, a World Health Organization official said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, a vast part of the quake-hit region received moderate rain on Thursday, adding to the problems of victims.

The diarrhoea cases were reported from the university college ground camp where poor sanitary conditions have raised alarm about new health dangers, according to medical workers.

“It’s obviously a matter of great concern but we have managed to improve the treatment situation,” WHO’s Emergency Health Coordinator Rachel Lavy told Dawn.

She said a tent had been erected to keep patients away from the rest of the camp and clinics.

Asked if it was cholera, Ms Lavy said there was no laboratory in Muzaffarabad to investigate the disease but added that acute diarrhoea caused dehydration which could lead to death.

“The good thing is that there have been no deaths and we are focusing on prevention.”

She said that health workers were also trying to improve the level of sanitation and awareness about hygiene among the survivors.

Ms Lavy said there were a number of camps in and around the capital where sanitary conditions were not good. “It’s indeed a huge task. But ironically we don’t have good aid agencies because they don’t have money to come here,” she deplored.

The WHO official said that was the reason the UN was constantly making appeals to the international community for generous aid.

Pointing to a helicopter hovering over the UN compound, she said the world body had run out of funds to continue air operations.

“We are flying them on borrowed money because we cannot leave in this situation. People are dying and more will die. (Therefore) we have to stay.”

A number of quake victims at some other camps said their children were suffering from acute diarrhoea.

Also on Thursday, WHO officials were working to contain the spread of diphtheria, a highly infectious respiratory illness, after they found a suspected case at the same squalid camp.

They suspected that the sufferer, a six-month-old boy, had arrived in the camp from Banchattar, a remote village in the Neelum Valley, and WHO personnel were trying to find if the people in contact with the baby had also faced the threat.

The worries of survivors were multiplied on Thursday as light rain lashed the quake-affected areas on Thursday amid forecast for intermittent rains on Friday.

Many survivors were seen placing polythene sheets over their tents, most of which cannot withstand harsh weather.

AFP adds: Meanwhile, UN officials warned that widespread rain in the area could be disastrous for their struggle to contain an outbreak of acute diarrhoea.