Thursday, January 21, 2010

Haiti's mass graves swell; doctors fear more death

Port-Au-Prince, Jan 21 (AP) Workers are carving out mass graves on a hillside north of Haiti's capital, using earth-movers to bury 10,000 earthquake victims in a single day while relief workers warn the death toll could increase.

Medical clinics have 12-day patient backlogs, untreated injuries are festering and makeshift camps housing thousands of survivors could foster disease, experts said.

"The next health risk could include outbreaks of diarrhea, respiratory tract infections and other diseases among hundreds of thousands of Haitians living in overcrowded camps with poor or nonexistent sanitation," said Dr Greg Elder, deputy operations manager for Doctors Without Borders in Haiti.

Hoping to assess the scope of the crisis, World Food Program chief Josette Sheeran planned to visit Haiti today, as did European Union aid chief Karel De Gucht.

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