Steep rise in cholera cases in northern Iraq

[Lone_Star_Dem]

Source: Reuters

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - More than 500 new cases of cholera have been confirmed since Thursday in Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk, bringing the total number across the country to more than 3,000, the health ministry said on Monday.

Fifteen people have died from the disease, but the relatively low death toll indicated the outbreak was under control despite the steep rise in the number of confirmed cases, a ministry spokeswoman said.

"We are discovering the disease at an early stage," she said.

Kirkuk province, with 2,197 cases and two deaths, has been the epicentre of the outbreak. In neighbouring Sulaimaniya, 11 people have died and 771 cases have been recorded. In Arbil province there have been 113 cases, she said.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKL0189004120071001

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Iraq oil city reports 100 new cholera cases a day
AFP

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Hospitals in Iraq's northern oil hub are reporting up to 100 new cases of cholera a day as the bacterial disease continues to spread across the country, a top medical official said Monday.

Doctor Amir al-Khuzai, the health ministry's pointman in tackling the crisis, said the number of infections in Kirkuk had risen to 2,069 at the weekend from 1,671 earlier in the week.

"This means that we are seeing almost 100 new cases a day in the hospitals of Kirkuk," he told AFP.

Twelve Iraqis are confirmed to have died of cholera since the outbreak was first detected on August 23, but the disease struck in Baghdad last week and a mass awareness campaign has been launched.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jbHznkpHt4qJAANwf9XQI5xjlvDQ