At least nine die of accute diarrheoa in southern town

At least nine people have died from an outbreak of accute gastro-enteritis in Moundou, the main town in southern Chad, following the breakdown of its water works which has led people to drink polluted water from wells and the local river, the Ministry of Health said in a statement. The ministry said 90 people had fallen ill with accute diarrheoa and vomiting since the town's main water pumping station broke down in late December. The World Health Organisation sent a mission led by Dr. Yam Abdoulaye to the industrial town 500 km south of the capital N'Djamena last Sunday to investigate the outbreak and determine the exact nature of the disease Its victims suffer a rapid loss of body fluids. The government has so far avoided any suggestion that the disease may be cholera. The river Logone which flows through Moundou is heavily polluted with the effluent from a local abattoir and factories that make soap, cooking oil, tobacco and beer.