At least 4 have died and 141 people are suspected of contracting cholera, which is aggressively spreading in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib area, being linked to dirty drinking water
The number of people who were hospitalized with suspected cholera in the Abu Ghraib area of Baghdad has risen to 141. Osman Almaadidi, mayor of Abu Ghraib town, announced that 37 of them were diagnosed with the cholera illness and the suspected cholera outbreak has killed four women. He pointed out “the lack of pure drinking water” as being the reason for illnesses, and stated, “Most of the water projects were discontinued. People in rural areas are using well water.”
Meanwhile, Qutaiba al-Jubouri, a member of the Iraqi Parliament's Health and Environment Committee, asked to declare a state of emergency and requested help from the World Health Organization, the United Nations and humanitarian organizations. Also, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said they would work with the Red Crescent and UNICEF to install additional water purification stations in the region. The country's water and sewer systems are outdated and water projects have been hindered by years due to war and terrorisim.
According to World Health Organization (WHO) reports, the latest confirmed cholera outbreak killed four people in 2012 and this would be the third severe cholera outbreak in Iraq occuring in nearly eight years.
