Cholera Suspected as Diarrhea Kills 10 in Western Ethiopia

Health officials in Ethiopia reported Monday that 10 people have died over the past two weeks in the western Gambella region amid a diarrhea outbreak believed to be cholera, though laboratory results have yet to confirm it.

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it admitted 286 patients in Gambella in a single week and warned that its response could stretch three to four months. A similar epidemic struck the region in 2002.

Cholera spreads through contaminated water and causes severe diarrhea and vomiting; without treatment within 24 hours, it can be fatal. Hand-washing and safe drinking water are the primary preventive measures.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in May 2006, in its own words.