World leaders warned: stop 'second wave of death'

AS world leaders gathered yesterday to coordinate aid for earthquake victims in Asia, doctors warned another 150,000 could die if basic needs such as water were not restored by the end of the week.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said serious health problems - gangrenous wounds that require amputations, children with diarrhoea and pneumonia caused by exposure to dirty water - could cause a rash of infectious disease outbreaks that could kill as many as the tsunami's direct impact.

"Five million people have been severely affected," said WHO director-general Dr Lee Jong-wook.