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Sat May 17, 11:23 AM

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By The Associated Press

BANGKOK, Thailand - Myanmar's military junta has given permission to Thai and Indian health workers to help cyclone victims in areas that have been off limits to most foreigners, raising hopes that others may soon be allowed into the secretive country.

About 30 Thai doctors, nurses and other medical experts are expected to travel to the devastated Irrawaddy delta in the coming days to treat victims living in camps or remote villages, said Dr. Surachet Satitniramai, director of Thailand's National Medical Emergency Services Institute.

Myanmar health officials insisted on civilian doctors - no military health workers - from Thailand and said the group would not be given access to hospitals already staffed by local physicians, he said.

"The team's mission is very important," Surachet said. "If we can gain trust from the Myanmar government, I think they will open up more to outside aid."

A group of 50 Indian military doctors and paramedics also was given approval to enter Myanmar, but it was unclear Saturday whether they would be allowed to travel from the main city of Yangon to the hard-hit delta, said Indian air force spokesman Wing Cmdr. Manish Gandhi.

Myanmar's paranoid junta has been slow to accept outside aid and has granted very few visas to relief workers desperate to help.

No foreign experts from the World Health Organization have been given approval to enter the country. And because only local staff have been allowed into the worst areas, data collection has been hindered. No firm estimates are available yet for how many people have died from disease or injuries two weeks after cyclone Nargis unleashed its fury.

"We have a challenge ahead of us," said Eric Laroche, WHO's top crisis expert in Geneva. "WHO is trying to detect as soon as possible any epidemics."

Nearly 78,000 people were killed and another 55,000 remain missing following the May 2-3 storm, according to Myanmar's state-run media. Aid groups have estimated the toll is probably closer to 128,000, with some 2.5 million survivors at risk for disease or starvation.

Many children are suffering from diarrhea, and some foreign aid agencies have reported a few cholera cases, but no major outbreaks have been reported.