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Cholera outbreak seen slowing in Iraqi
Kurdistan
30.10.2007
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October
30, 2007
SULAIMANIYAH, Kurdistan Region 'Iraq', -- The
spread of cholera in Iraq is slowing thanks to
health measures taken to curb an outbreak of the
disease, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
Cholera has killed 22 people since an outbreak in
the northern province of Kirkuk in August and there
have been 4,444 confirmed cases, almost exclusively
in northern regions.
"The rate of increase is very slow. October was
better than September. Thanks to the monitoring of
the disease and health awareness campaigns among
citizens the situation has became better," a health
ministry spokeswoman said.
Cholera is characterised in its most severe form by
a sudden onset of acute watery diarrhoea that can
cause death by severe dehydration and kidney failure
within hours. The virulent disease is mainly
transmitted through water and food.
With 2,968 cases and five deaths, Kirkuk province
has been the epicentre of the outbreak. In
neighbouring Sulaimaniyah, 14 people have died and
1,217 cases have been recorded. In nearby Erbil
province there have been 224 cases, the spokeswoman
said.
RESTAURANTS, WATER SOURCES
Health officials in Kirkuk said on Tuesday they were
still monitoring places such as restaurants and
water sources to try and prevent cholera making a
comeback.
"The disease is going down. On October 29 we
received three cases," said Doctor Sabah al-Dawoudi,
head of the health department in Kirkuk. "At the
outbreak of the disease we were receiving more than
50 cases a day."
Across Iraq, television stations have been
broadcasting advice from officials on how to avoid
the disease. In Baghdad, leaflets have been handed
out at army checkpoints and schools were making
pupils aware of the risks.
In Sulaimaniyah, most measures have been lifted but
officials are monitoring juice stalls to make sure
they use mineral water and restaurants are not
allowed to serve salads or tap water.
"We are about to root out the epidemic completely
from the Kurdistan region," Zairyan Othman, health
minister in Kurdistan, told Reuters.
"At the outbreak of the disease, there were 200-250
cases of diarrhoea and vomiting at hospitals in
Sulaimaniyah. In Erbil it was less, there were 100
or fewer each day, in Kirkuk, 150-200. But the rate
has decreased gradually. In the last 24 hours there
were 10 cases in the region." said Othman.
Reuters
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