Iraq: First death since cholera recurrence

The resurgence of cholera resulted in the first death yesterday Tuesday in Iraq, where 17 new cases of the disease, which causes acute diarrhea, were diagnosed in the previous 24 hours, the Ministry of Health announced

The province of Kirkuk (north) “recorded today (Tuesday) the first death due to the disease,” said Saif al-Badr, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health, according to the Iraqi state news agency.

“In the last 24 hours, 17 new cases have been reported, bringing the total to 76 confirmed in Iraq since the beginning of the year,” he said.

The resurgence of cholera in Iraq was officially announced about fifteen days ago, in Sulaymaniyah, in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, with ten cases, in al-Mutana (south), with two cases, and in Kirkuk, with one.

Mr. Badr did not explain the reasons for the resurgence of cholera in the country.

The most recent cholera epidemic struck Iraq in 2015, according to the health ministry. It mainly hit Baghdad and the province of Babylon, south of the capital, infecting hundreds of people.

Cholera, a disease that causes acute diarrhea and dehydration and can kill within hours without treatment, is spread by ingesting or absorbing contaminated water or eating food contaminated with the vibrio cholerae bacterium. It often occurs in residential areas with limited access to drinking water or lack of adequate sewerage networks.

At the beginning of 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 1.3 to 1.4 million cases of cholera and 21,000 to 143,000 deaths due to the disease were recorded worldwide each year.

Source: AMPE