Cholera epidemic kills 17 in Niger valley near Mopti

An outbreak of cholera has killed 17 people in recent weeks in a swampy area of the Niger valley near the city of Mopti in central Mali, government officials said on Monday. The officials said 153 cases of the disease, a potentially fatal form of diarrhoeia which causes a rapid loss of body fluids, had been recorded in two districts near Mopti. They said 73 cases and nine deaths had been recorded in Djenne district, 60 km southeast of Mopti, while 80 cases and eight deaths had been reported in villages near the town of Tenenkou, 45 km north of the city. Cholera is generally spread by contaminated drinking water. Officials said the authorities had launched a public awareness campaign about the causes of cholera on local radio stations and had taken measures to improve the supply of disinfectant to the area. Other public health measures included a ban on the sale of food from makeshift stalls in front of schools and Madrassa Islamic schools and a ban on bathing and washing laundry on the banks of the River Niger in Mopti.