Iraq: cholera outbreak under control after four deaths

The Iraqi Kurdish authorities said Sunday that a recent outbreak of cholera in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region is under control despite the death of four people. "The (regional) ministry of health has been able to control the spread of the cholera epidemic in Kurdistan, and measures continue to treat the remaining cases, we can say that the epidemic is under control, and the situation returned to normal," the ministry said on its official website. Up to 272 confirmed cases were diagnosed, including three children, and most of the cases were in Sulaimaniyah province in northeastern Iraq, according to the ministry. Three of the four dead were in Sulaimaniyah province and one in Arbil, the capital city of the Kurdish region, the ministry said. The source of the cholera was the polluted water of the Dokan dam in Sulaimaniyah and a well at a house in central the city of Sulaimaniyah, he added. In 2007, 14 people died when cholera epidemic spread in nine out of 18 provinces across the country. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 30,000 people have fallen ill with the disease, among which 3,315 were identified as positive for vibrio cholera, the bacterium causing the disease. Cholera, one of the most deadly diseases, is a highly contagious water-borne disease which causes a copious, painless, watery diarrhea that can quickly lead to severe dehydration and even death if not treated promptly.