China Has Reclosed Beichuan Because of Epidemic Fears

China's Beichuan town has been sealed off to prevent any possible epidemics from happening. The town lost half of its 12,000 residents during the May 12 earthquake that killed 69,186 and left 18,457 people missing.

The reason behind the town being sealed off is the number of missing residents. Officials fear that surviving family members would start epidemics as they dug with their bare hands trying to find missing relatives. The city had been briefly opened to allow for people to find possessions left behind after the devastating quake. The scene that followed the reopening though was chaotic, forcing authorities to close the town down again. 600 armed police officers have been posted around the town to prevent anyone in.

"Some local residents were digging for their family members with their bare hands, which can easily cause infection,"

Tan Jiamin, Beichuan county's head of police told Xinhua.

The rising summer temperatures increase the risk of epidemics from contaminated remains. Possible diseases that could arise include avian influenza, encephalitis B and rabies. The earthquake itself increased the risk of anthrax and tetanus viruses.