Carrying a big bag of sterilizing equipment weighing more than 30 kg, Zhang Biao was on his way to a village near Longmen township, Ya'an, at noon on Monday. He felt tired, and sweat poured down his face.

Zhang, one of the soldiers with the Chengdu Military Area Command's quarantine team, came to the county on Saturday afternoon with three companions.

Due to the narrow and cracked roads, he must walk to the county's villages to spray disinfectant. "We drove a car, but it couldn't work on such terrible roads," said the 29-year-old, who graduated from Sichuan University's West China Center of Medical Sciences.

Zhang Shougang, the head of the team, said the key is to see whether the water in disaster areas is polluted or not.

"We use disinfectant that will not pollute the environment and the water around villages, and ensure the drinking water is safe for residents," he said, adding that he is happy the team has thus far found no disease.

Working on extremely humid days to disinfect water that might easily contain a virus is a big challenge, he said.

"We require each resident to wash their hands in water mixed with disinfectant for more than 15 seconds before having a meal, while asking them not to throw rubbish on the ground," he said.

Contact the writers at zhaolei@chinadaily.com.cn and caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/23/2013 page2)