Dog teams join mudslide search

These dogs are the latest weapon in the armoury of search and recovery teams looking for those still missing in the wake of the Washington mudslide.

Twenty canine teams from the U.S. and Canada are now helping in the hunt for the 17 people yet to be found.

The search teams sifting through the thick mud have to face the prospect of contamination from a variety of sources.

(SOUNDBITE)(English) DR RICHARD BRADLEY, FEMA PHYSICIAN, SAYING:

"We have a potential exposure for blood and body fluids but you look as that everything we had was diluted in over a million cubic yards of dirt, the risk to the individual rescuer is going to be very small."

Weather forecasters are predicting drier weather next week which should help improve conditions at the site.

The number of people known to have died when the mudslide hit the small town of Oso last month now stands at 30.