The UN is to launch a massive programme to combat dengue fever in Burma amid fears that victims of the deadly cyclone could be more vulnerable to the disease.
Hundreds of volunteers will fan out across high-risk areas of the main city, Rangoon, and the Irrawaddy delta from tomorrow to tackle the mosquitoes that carry the disease, which is known as "break-bone fever" because of the joint pain it causes.
The target of the dengue taskforce will be the mosquito larvae that breed in pools of standing water during the monsoon, which started just as Cyclone Nargis struck more than six weeks ago.
The UN estimates 134,000 people were killed by the fierce winds and accompanying storm surge from the Bay of Bengal that washed over low-lying areas of the delta, which is home to up to 2.4 million.
After a faltering international response to the tragedy, during which the country's military regime barred most disaster management experts, aid agencies say they have now reached 1.3 million victims.
The Burmese authorities continue to show their suspicion, arresting their own citizens who tried to deliver aid. At the weekend, Zaw Thet Htway, a prominent government critic, was seized as he distributed relief to survivors.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UN children's agency are taking the lead in tackling the threat of dengue, which is endemic in Burma even in a normal year.
Leonard Ortega, the WHO's dengue expert in Burma, said the number of cases discovered this year roughly mirrored that of other years, with 781 recorded in Rangoon and 481 in the delta.
But now is the danger period. After the cyclone and the onset of the monsoon, it takes a number of weeks for the mosquitoes to start breeding in the pools.
"It is a major concern not just because this is dengue season, but because of the displacement of the population, the destruction of houses and because people are more exposed to mosquitoes," said Ortega said. "We fear that there will be more cases this year."
Tonnes of pesticide are to be added to water containers where mosquitoes are likely to breed as part of the aid operation, which will begin in Rangoon before spreading out across the delta over the next ten days.
Up to 1,700 volunteers from the Burma Red Cross and other organisations will visit the delta, laying the pesticide and advising people to dispose of old tyres, cans and bottles where water can gather.
The WHO has provided 200 "fogging" machines that spread pesticide in places where dengue cases have been reported. The fumes can kill adult mosquitoes, but not the larvae.
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