Kathmandu, August 28:

Flood victims living in areas west of the Saptakoshi river have been facing a shortage of medicines, food and medical personnel, the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division said in a report.

An EDCD team prepared the report after visiting the affected areas.

The report states that patients have been facing a shortage of medicines, food and medical personnel.

According to Dr Bindeshwar Prasad Yadav, an epidemiologist at the EDCD, doctors at the Sagarmatha Zonal Hospital, the only hospital in the area, have been finding it difficult to look after patients.

"In five days, the hospital treated 4,440 patients," he said, urging the authorities concerned to address the shortage of manpower, medicines and food.

The report urges the government to supply immediately petroleum products for the ambulances and provide allowances to the medical staffers, who have been working round the clock.

According to Yadav, 25 medical staffers have been attending to the patients at the hospital.

An additional sum of Rs 1.6 million is needed to provide health service to the flood victims, the report states.

"Outbreaks have not been reported yet, but the area is prone to outbreaks of cholera, Japanese Encephalitis and malaria," said Dr Yadav. The field report will be presented to the Health Ministry and other authorities tomorrow, he said. Meanwhile, the Federation of Drinking Water and Sanitation Users-Nepal today called on authorities concerned to make arrangements for supply of potable water to the flood victims and build toilets for them.

It also called for maintenance of water sources and pipelines that have been damaged due to flooding in the Saptakoshi river.