Government says cholera is under control despite 21 deaths

UN agencies and the Iraqi government say the cholera outbreak is under control, despite the fact that since August there have been about 4,200 laboratory-confirmed cases and 21 deaths from the disease.

“Iraqis have adhered to the rules to guarantee their safety against cholera and numbers have dropped dramatically; in addition, more than 70 percent of reported cases are being treated with success,” said Taha Abdallah, a senior official at the Ministry of Health.

“There are some areas where sanitation is poor and there is a deficit of potable water, leaving residents in a more dangerous situation, but we are working hard to contain the problem. And with the end of the summer season, the possible spread of the disease is lower,” Abdallah added. “An intense campaign was developed among displaced families to prevent the spread of the disease among the most vulnerable.”

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO) are urgently calling on all Iraqis to follow the preventive measures, which are simple and affordable and have proved to be effective in warding off the risk of a cholera outbreak. So far 39 districts in 11 provinces have been affected, according to the Ministry of Health.

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Shoubo Rasheed, UNICEF’s communication specialist, said: “Reduction in the number of cholera cases and deaths does not happen by chance. However, each and every Iraqi can make a significant contribution to combating the outbreak simply by following the rules of food, water and personal hygiene.”

Areas affected

Kirkuk, Suleimaniyah, Erbil, Dohuk, Tikrit, Mosul, Diyala, Basra, Wasit, Baghdad and Anbar provinces are affected by the cholera outbreak. “Local health units have been struggling to stop the disease from spreading and have obtained excellent results,” Abdallah said.

Cholera infects children and adults equally, causing severe onset of watery diarrhoea with vomiting and dehydration. If treatment is delayed, the disease can be fatal, but up to 80 percent of cholera cases can be treated successfully using only oral rehydration salts.

“The cases we have treated in our hospital are from moderate level and [unlikely] to be fatal but if patients don’t look for a fast medical diagnosis, the disease can enter a serious chronic level and be fatal,” said Ibraheem Abdul-Lattef, epidemiologist at Baghdad Medical Centre Hospital.

Despite a decline in the number of cholera cases, both UNICEF and WHO have continued their support for local health units by providing technical support, training on case management, outbreak investigation and containment. The two UN agencies have also been supporting awareness and hygiene promotion campaigns in the country.

as/ar/mw