Frustrated villagers in Phitsanulok and Sukhothai yesterday dug a ditch across a highway to drain floodwater, while the Public Health Ministry stepped up its disease-control measures following two suspected leptospirosis deaths in Nan.

Villagers from Ban Wang Bo in Phitsanulok's Phrom Phiram district and Ban Klong Takhae in Sukhothai's Kong Krailat district dug a five-metre-long path together across rural highway number 4024 to drain water that has flooded their homes and thousands of rai of farmland since Monday.

The area was also flooded in June. This time villagers took the matter into their own hands, saying that waiting for water to drain through pipes was too slow.

Phitsanulok governor Pipat Wongsaroj, who gave 500 relief bags to Wang Bo villagers, said the flooding in Phrom Phiram's 33 villages and 10,000 rai of farmland came from Sukhothai's attempts to drain floodwater via the Yom River.

Following two suspected leptospirosis deaths in Nan, caretaker Public Health Minister Pinij Charusombat said he had instructed health officials to warn villagers, especially those with leg wounds, not to wade through water.

He urged persons with high fever, severe headaches, muscle pains and pink eyes to immediately seek medical attention. Expert teams had been dispatched to treat leptospirosis patients, he said.

Thawat Sunthrajarn, director-general of the Disease Control Department, said that 31 out of 1,304 leptospirosis patients had died around the country this year.

The department would send officials soon to investigate the situation in Nan. He urged villagers to wear plastic boots when wading through water. The ministry had earlier sent them 6,000 pairs.

The move followed a second suspected leptospirosis death on Wednesday. Agriculture official Somlak Sitthihan, 48, died after sustaining leg wounds while helping flood victims last week and then suffering leptospirosis symptoms.

Earlier, former policeman Sompong Kittiwong, 53, died from a blood infection after he sustained a leg injury and then waded through water. Tissues were sent to Chiang Mai medical centre to determine if he died from leptospirosis.

In Phichit, the Yom River inundated many riverside homes and farmland in Sam Ngam, Pho Prathap Chang, Pho Thale and Bung Narang.

Floodwater from mountainous areas in Phetchabun inundated 100 homes in Muang district and left a school for mentally challenged children under 60 centimetres of water.