cholera

Cholera is spreading throughout Iraq, with half of the 18 provinces affected, Kirkuk and Sulaymaniyah being the hardest hit.

First Cholera Case Confirmed in Baghdad

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The New York Times

September 20, 2007

BAGHDAD (AP) -- The World Health Organization confirmed on Thursday the first cholera case in Baghdad since 2003, raising fears the disease is spreading from the north of the country where it has struck more than 1,000 people.

A 25-year-old woman from eastern Baghdad was found to have cholera after she turned up at a hospital with severe diarrhea, said Dr. Naeema al-Gasseer, the WHO's representative in Iraq.

Cholera is a gastrointestinal disease that is typically spread by drinking contaminated water and can cause severe diarrhea that, in extreme cases, can lead to fatal dehydration.