A resurgence of cholera claimed the first death in Iraq on Tuesday June 28, where 17 new cases of this acute diarrheal disease have been recorded in the past 24 hours, announced the Ministry of Health.
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The province of Kirkuk, in northern Iraq, "
recorded today (Tuesday, editor's note) the first death from the disease
", said Seif al-Badr, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, quoted by the Iraqi state news agency.
"
In the past 24 hours, 17 new cases have been recorded, bringing the total to 76 cases recorded in Iraq since the beginning of the year
," he continued.
The resurgence of cholera in Iraq was first officially reported about ten days ago in Suleimaniyeh, in the autonomous region of Kurdistan, with ten cases, in al-Muthanna (south), with two cases, and in Kirkuk with a case.
Seif al-Badr did not explain why cholera resurfaced in Iraq.
The last major epidemic to have affected the country dates back to 2015, according to the Ministry of Health.
At the time, cholera mainly affected Baghdad and the province of Babylon, south of the capital, infecting hundreds of people.
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An acute diarrheal infection causing sometimes fatal dehydration, cholera is contracted by the absorption of water or food products contaminated with the bacterium vibrio cholerae.
The disease develops in areas that are often populated, with limited access to drinking water or without suitable sanitation networks.
According to estimates, there are between 1.3 million and 4 million cases of cholera worldwide each year, causing between 21,000 and 143,000 deaths.