A rash of patients hospitalised with diarrhoea and vomiting in northern Iraq has raised fears of a cholera outbreak across the region. In April 2008, the main hospital in Sulaimaniyah received an average of 25 patients per day with such symptoms – which are very similar to those associated with cholera. While no cases of the disease have been confirmed, officials are worried.
An outbreak in the region last year led to 2,000 infections and 24 deaths. Hardest hit was the northern city of Sulaimaniyah, where 14 people died.
Health officials said a lack of clean drinking water and rising temperatures in the region could spark a similar epidemic this year. The former coupled with poor sanitation was to blame for last year’s outbreak, which began in the province of Kirkuk and spread throughout Iraqi Kurdistan as well as Baghdad.
Read more: Azeez Mahmood, IWPR, 02 May 2008
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