Seven days of cholera in the town of Moyale

Photo: microbiologybytes

Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae (above). Left untreated it can lead to severe dehydration and death

MOYALE, 12 March 2009 (IRIN) - At least 14 people have died in the past seven days of cholera in the town of Moyale, along the Kenyan-Ethiopian border, health officials have said.

"Three people have died in Kenya and 11 deaths [have been] confirmed in Ethiopia," Abdullahi Jaldesa, the Moyale district clinical officer, told IRIN. The three dead in Kenya include two children. Another 13 patients have been admitted to the Moyale District Hospital.

The Ministry of Health, with technical support from the country office of the World Health Organization (WHO), confirmed the outbreak on 5 March ...read more