A world Health Organisation (WHO) official said yesterday that there was little risk of an epidemic following the deadly earthquake and said the government's response to the threat of disease had been excellent.
"Epidemics are a myth of disasters," Mr Erik Noji told an Istanbul news conference after returning from the quake zone. "There is little risk of disease."
"The correct response is the provision of clean water," Mr Noji said. "And there is plenty of clean water there."
He said truckloads of fresh water had been sent to the seven provinces declared disaster zones following last Tuesday's quake which shattered the industrial north-west of the country.
In Golcuk, one of the worst hit cities, health officials have spread white lime powder in gutters, striving to guard against disease among earthquake survivors.
Residents and rescue workers alike wear face masks to filter the dust and stench. As quickly as the dead are pulled from the debris, they are wrapped in shrouds and taken for burial. Officials fear delay might increase the chance of disease.
Mr Noji said the only problem with the corpses was the awful smell.
"Equating dead bodies with disease is not true," he said.
The government acknowledges that infectious disease is the prime threat now facing those who have lived through an earthquake already known to have killed more than 12,000 people.
"There are concerns, but what is reassuring is past experience," Mr Noji said.
"There's never been an epidemic after an earthquake, certainly in the past 25 years. Even in past earthquakes which have been poorly managed there have not been epidemics."
Mr Noji, who has been in regular contact with the Turkish health ministry, said there had been no reported cases of cholera or typhoid and only isolated cases of diarrhoea.
French rescuers yesterday pulled a paraplegic woman from under a collapsed building in Golcuk, the Anatolia news agency reported.
Rescuers pulled Ms Adalet Cetinol (57) from the rubble at around 2 p.m. (local time) with the help of Turkish soldiers, more than 130 hours after the tremor hit.
They had detected her presence using ultra-sensitive hearing aids.
Ms Cetinol was alive but suffering kidney problems and was transferred to the military hospital in Istanbul, Anatolia reported.
Rescue efforts have subsided in many parts of the quake-hit area as hope for survivors fades.
British emergency workers abandoned the search for survivors and were due to fly home yesterday, officials said.
The Turkish authorities decided that they had been there for as long as necessary, a spokeswoman for the Department for International Development (DFID) said.
Around 80 fire-fighters, emergency workers and Red Cross officials were due back in London after searching for days in the ruins of the earthquake.
Rescuers defied the odds on Saturday by plucking at least 10 survivors from rubble.
But UN officials say the likelihood of finding any more survivors is extremely slim and authorities in Turkey are concentrating on helping 200,000 people threatened by disease after water and electricity were cut off. The UN says the final death toll could reach about 40,000 once all the bodies are recovered.
The DFID spokeswoman said British officials were staying in Turkey to help assess what long-term aid Britain could provide.
The British Foreign Office said some 350 British nationals were still unaccounted for in Turkey, but that the number probably reflected the fact that many people had not informed their relatives or friends that they were safe after the quake.