Aid teams rush water purification equipment to Burma

The first American aid flight to Burma after Cyclone Nargis hit more than a week ago has now taken off from neighbouring Thailand.

US officials say the flight will carry water purification systems and supplies to ward off water-borne diseases.

After days of delays it is a small concession by the Burmese authorities and a test run for the American Government, which has the capacity to rush vast quantities of aid to the flood zone.

For now though the Burmese military remain adamant that they alone will handle the distribution process on the ground at their own pace.

The authorities have now admitted that some areas are still cut off and the forecast is for more heavy rain this week, adding to the misery in the flooded Irrawaddy delta.

Aid groups say aid is trickling into Burma, but hundreds of thousands of people urgently need food, shelter and medical supplies.

Jane Cocking is humanitarian director of OXFAM and she says that water purification is crucial.

"Water purification tablets are being handed out, but they are being handed out in thousands and we really need them to be handed out in millions," she said.

"If something is not done to provide people with shelter, with clean water, with sanitation then we are really running the risk of major outbreaks of cholera, of typhoid, shigella - all sorts of things," she said.

Meanwhile the Australian Red Cross is sending a disaster water treatment plant to Burma.

The treatment plant was due to leave on a flight from Brisbane just after 3:00pm and is expected to arrive in the disaster area within the next 24 hours.

The organisation's Greg Goebel says fresh water is critical in keeping survivors of Cyclone Nargis free of dysentery, cholera and typhoid, which are spread by contaminated water.

"The important thing is to make sure that the basics of day-to-day living are maintained, so that's shelter, water and food," he said.

"Our disaster water treatment plants are basically a system that filters water at about 5,000 litres an hour and provides up to six main storage facilities and provides fresh drinking water for the people mostly affected."

- ABC/BBC