Health fears grow for quake disaster survivors

Already reeling from the earthquake that shattered their region, villagers in a scenic Kashmir village are now facing a new calamity – nearly half are suffering from skin disease, respiratory problems or other cold related-illness, health officials said today.

“Scabies, flu and respiratory-track problems are common here,” said Irshad Hussain, a physician at a field hospital in Ghari Dopata, a town which lies 20 miles southeast of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir.