Source:
Los Angeles TimesCholera among children in Iraq causing concern
By Tina Susman and Zeena Kareem
Originally published June 13, 2007
baghdad // Five cases of cholera have been reported among children in Iraq in the past three weeks, a worrying sign as temperatures rise and the war leaves sewage and sanitation systems a shambles.
All of the cases were among children younger than 12 in the southern city of Najaf, and all were reported by medical officials on alert for signs of the potentially lethal ailment, Claire Hajaj of UNICEF said yesterday.
Cholera, which is spread through bacteria in contaminated water, is easily treatable but can cause rapid dehydration and death if not treated. Cholera pandemics have killed tens of thousands of people worldwide, most recently in South America in the early 1990s.
Although the number of cases in Iraq is small and none has been fatal, the emergence of cholera this early in the year is ominous, Hajaj said. In the past, cholera has not usually been seen until July.
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