SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq — A cholera outbreak in
Iraq has infected at least 13 people and scores more suspected cases have been
sent for analysis, most from the northern Kurdistan region, health officials
said Sunday.
اضافة اعلان
“Ten cases of cholera have been recorded in the
province” of Sulaimaniyah, said Sabah Hawrami, district health chief in the
autonomous Kurdistan region.
Another 56 suspected cases from the same province
are being analyzed by a central laboratory in the capital Baghdad — the only
one able to provide the diagnosis.
The health ministry said one case had been
registered in Kirkuk province, neighboring Sulaimaniyah, while two were recorded
in the southern province of Muthanna.
No deaths have yet been registered.
“Around 4,000 cases of diarrhea and vomiting have
been recorded in Sulaimaniyah hospitals” in the past six days, Hawrami told a
press conference.
The provincial capital of Sulaimaniyah counts around
1 million people.
“Cholera is a terrible illness but can be easily
treated. We can save lives in a matter of hours,” he added.
The country’s last broad outbreak “dates back to
2015”, health ministry spokesman Seif Al-Badr told AFP.
The central provinces of Baghdad and Babil to its
south were the worst affected during that outbreak, with hundreds ill.
The last registered cholera cases in Sulaimaniyah
province were in 2012.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal disease that is
treatable with antibiotics and hydration but can kill within hours without
medical attention.
It is caused by a germ that is typically transmitted
by poor sanitation. People become infected when they swallow food or water
carrying the bug.
According to the
World Health Organization, researchers estimate that annually there are between
1.3 million and four million cases of cholera worldwide, leading to between
21,000 and 143,000 deaths.
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