Myanmar residents queue to get drinking water in Yangon
© AFP/File Khin Maung Win

GENEVA (AFP) - "The lack of drinking water and sanitation are the two main problems," WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told journalists.

Myanmar is an endemic malaria zone, and stagnant water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes which transmit the disease, she said.

The WHO said it also expects a rise in cases of diarrhea and respiratory ailments, and warned that people injured in the devastation also risk picking up tetanus.

The WHO has sent two medical kits as part of a wider aid package organised by the World Food Programme. Each kit contains enough medical material to meet the needs of 10,000 people over three months, Chaib said.

Eight further kits are waiting to be dispatched, according to the WHO website.

©AFP