Four killed in cholera outbreak west of Baghdad
Wrestling with various kinds of miseries seems to be part of the Iraqis’ destiny, particularly in recent years. The people have experienced many adversities from the US invasion of their fatherland in 2003 and its disastrous consequences to the unprecedented barbarity of Daesh Takfiri terrorists. To add insult to injury, a new calamity has lately emerged.
At least 4 people have died of cholera in an area near the war-torn country’s capital Baghdad due to the lack of clean drinking water.
The victims succumbed to the highly contagious disease in the town of Abu Ghraib, some 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of Baghdad, health officials said on Saturday, adding that at least 70 other people were diagnosed with cholera in the area.
"Some people are drinking directly from the [Euphrates] river and the wells. The river water is polluted because the level is too low," Health Ministry spokesman Rifaq al-Araji said.
More medical staff have been sent to the area and a crisis cell has been formed to contain the outbreak, Araji noted.
Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It is a fast-developing infection that causes diarrhea, which can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death if treatment is not promptly provided.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered a set of measures, including daily water tests, to fight the disease.
Based on Abadi’s order, bottled water will be distributed in the affected area to thousands of families forced to flee from their homes because of Daesh terrorist attacks.
The premier said Baghdad would cooperate with the Red Crescent and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to install extra water purification stations in Abu Ghraib.
Iraq's water and sewerage systems are old, and infrastructure development has been stalled by years of war.
The latest registered cholera outbreak in Iraq killed four people and infected some 300 people in the northern Kurdistan region in 2012. Five years earlier, about 24 people died of the disease and over 4,000 cases were confirmed.
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