Residents of flooded areas in Poland have been warned against the health risks involved in coming into contact with contaminated water.
Decaying bodies of animals, flooded cemeteries, landfills and septic tanks pose a risk of disease. Vaccination programmes, especially against tetanus, has been launched in some areas in the country.
Bacteria present in such an environment may cause serious disease, especially skin conditions and digestive tract disorders, including diarrhea, salmonellosis, and typhoid fever, Ewa Krawczyk from the sanitary and epidemiological centre in Łódź, central Poland told the TVN 24 news station.
The floods, which hit southern Poland early last week and have since spread northward, have killed 13 people and caused hundreds of thousands of zloty in damages. Many farm and other animals have also perished. (ab)
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