A three-year-old child died of cholera in the southern Iraqi
province of Missan, a spokesperson for the province's health department said
Wednesday.
The child, Sajad Farhan Zaki, was one of 23 suspected cholera cases reported in
the province, Jamal al-Ulwi told Voices of Iraq news agency.
However, it was later established that 22 of the cases were not cholera but
diarrhoea, according to al-Ulwi, who attributed the cholera outbreak to
polluted river water.
Amara, the capital of Missan, lies on the Tigris River. Health teams have been
deployed to distribute disinfectant to residents and raise public awareness,
al-Ulwi added.
In July, the World Health Organization said not a single case of cholera had
been reported in Iraq for six months following an outbreak in the country last
year, dpa reported.
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