BAGHDAD, Sept. 8, 2008
New Cholera Outbreak Hits Iraq
20 Cases Confirmed; Officials Warn Figures Are Much Higher
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Cholera is endemic in Iraq, which lacks facilities to supply clean drinking water, especially in the countryside. Last year, a cholera outbreak in northern Iraq killed 14 people. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Dalziel)
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Interactive Battle For Iraq The government, the insurgency, key players, background and photos.
However, local authorities in Babil province insist the real figure is much higher and have complained that the government in Baghdad has been slow in responding to the outbreak.
Health Ministry official Dr. Ihsan Jaafar said the figure of confirmed cases was based on an examination of samples taken from the victims over the last week. He said one death - a 60-year-old man - had been confirmed.
He gave no date for the death or for when the outbreak was first reported.
"There are other suspect cases but 90 percent of them appear to be diarrhea," he said.
In the provincial capital of Hillah, a member of the ruling provincial council, Hassan Tofan, gave a much higher figure. He said that at least 300 cholera cases have been reported in Babil and that 10 people died recently.
The council issued a statement criticizing the provincial health department and the Health Ministry in Baghdad for being "so idle in measures to prevent the speared of disease," Tofan said.
He said local authorities had ordered all ice plants and many juice stands to close to prevent the spreading of the disease.
Cholera is endemic in Iraq, which lacks facilities to supply clean drinking water, especially in the countryside. Last year, a cholera outbreak in northern Iraq killed 14 people.
Cholera is a gastrointestinal disease typically spread by drinking contaminated water. It can cause severe diarrhea that, in extreme cases, can lead to fatal dehydration. It is preventable by treating drinking water with chlorine and improving hygiene conditions.
In other developments:
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Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
%u201CWhen Iraq becomes strong enough in our opinion to stand alone, we shall be in a position to state that our task has been fulfilled, and that Iraq is an independent sovereign state. But this cannot be said while we are forced year after year to spend very large sums of money on helping the Iraqi government to defend itself and maintain order.%u201D
- Shrub on one of his more lucent days? - No - Winston Churchill in 1922, the last time the Brits invaded Iraq at the behest of Anglo Iranian Oil (Now BP).
I think you are probably misinformed. In Gustov, Bush declared a state of emergency, people and pets were packed up and bussed to safety and national guards were called in. How this can be thought of as surviving disaster on their own I''m not sure. This is what should have happened during Katrina and didn''t.
Government should be there to help us help ourselves.
Above all, it should make laws to keep things fair for everyone, not just the rich. We haven''t seen that kind of governing in quite some time.
When a government destroys the infrastructure of another country, it becomes a responsibility for that government to repair the damage they caused, especially when such damage was considered pre-emptive.
It''s NOT Governments role to combat poverty.
In the long term people "forget" how to make choices, because Uncle Sam does it for them.
New Orleans is a perfect example, they learned a hard lesson from Katrina.
This time people saved their own butts and it worked!
I don''t consider 14 people out of millions an outbreak.
We loose more than 14 people in Philadelphia every week to murder.
Thanks liberals take the focus off of America to push your anti-war agenda.
I guess our brothers in Philly don''t count!
Perhaps that''s where the problem lies; reading comprehension of the people on the right. There might be help out there for you to catch up (if the republicans haven''t cut the programs).
- by itgranny September 8, 2008 3:58 PM EDT
- When i see articles like this, i seeth! We''ve sent all that money over there and yet the population as a whole is still suffering. We shouldn''t have gone over there in the first place but since we''re there, they should have been figuring out how to make these people''s lives better. We''ve been spending all this money on military and blackwater to make that country safer yet the same thing could have been accomplished so much better and safer with clean water, dependable electricity, good schools and good jobs that pay a living wage. If we would have put our energy and resources into making their lives better instead of blowing up the place and killing people, we''d be leaving there heroes instead of being asked to leave.
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See all 12 Commentsthis is something the repubs just don''t get even over here. Cut programs, highway funds, education funding, research funding etc and they can''t see the future disasters waiting to happen (such as the bridge in minnesota).