Eastern South Asia This section includes general information about health hazards as reported by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The region includes Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar (formerly Burma), the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam). From the tropical rain and monsoon forests of the north-west, the area extends through the savanna and the dry tropical forests of the Indochina peninsula, returning to the tropical rain and monsoon forests of the islands bordering the South China Sea. The arthropod-borne diseases are an important cause of disease throughout the area. Malaria and filariasis are endemic in many parts of the rural areas of all the countries or areas, except for malaria in Brunei Darussalam, and Singapore, where normally only imported cases occur. Foci of plague exist in Myanmar. Plague also occurs in Viet Nam. Japanese encephalitis, dengue, and dengue hemorrhagic fever can occur in epidemics in both urban and rural areas. Mite-borne typhus has been reported in deforested areas in most countries. Foodborne and waterborne diseases are common. Cholera and other watery diarrheas, amebic and bacillary dysentery, typhoid fever, and hepatitis A and E may occur in all countries in the area. Schistosomiasis (bilharziasis) is endemic in the southern Philippines and in central Sulawesi (Indonesia), and occurs in small foci in the Mekong delta. Among helminthic infections, fasciolopsiasis (giant intestinal fluke) may be acquired in most countries in the area; clonorchiasis (oriental liver fluke) in the Indochina peninsula; opisthorchiasis (cat liver fluke) in the Indochina peninsula, the Philippines, and Thailand; and paragonimiasis in most countries. Melioidosis can occur sporadically throughout the area. Hepatitis B is highly endemic. Cases of poliomyelitis continue to be reported from Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, and Viet Nam. The incidence of poliomyelitis is low in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Trachoma exists in Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Other hazards include rabies, snake bites, and leeches.