Progress in Iraq> The Independent: Iraqi cholera outbreak spreads to Baghdad

[kenny blankenship]

Iraqi cholera outbreak spreads to Baghdad

An outbreak of cholera in Iraq, which has so far infected 1,500 people, has now reached Baghdad, the World Health Organisation reported yesterday.

The disease was first reported in the northern Kurdish areas of the country and specialist teams were dispatched in an effort to keep the situation contained. The revelation that cholera has now spread to the Iraqi capital, with its vast population of internally displaced refugees and crumbling water and sewage system offering scope for further proliferation, is a matter of great worry, say health officials.

Fadela Chaib, a spokeswoman for the WHO, said: "The first case of cholera confirmed in Baghdad was two days ago. A 25-year-old woman had contracted the disease. For the time being we have only one case. It is likely others will be identified. The most important thing for Baghdad, even if it is difficult, is to strengthen the disease surveillance system, to be able to identify all the suspected cases and to know what we need in terms of oral rehydration salts, intravenous fluids and antibiotics so we can be ready when we see more cases."


The WHO said it was working with the Iraqi government to avert an epidemic. A report by Oxfam and the NGO Co-Ordination Committee In Iraq (NCCI) warned recently that 70 per cent of Iraq's population did not have adequate water supplies and only 20 per cent had access to effective sanitation.

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One fifth of Iraq's population lives in Baghdad--or did, before we so gallantly brought them freedom. Despite the fact that many people have fled the capital, millions still live there. Density of population is an aggravating factor in the spread of cholera.

More background/prior stories on this topic:

http://www.slate.com/id/2173806/entry/0/

http://www.juancole.com/2007/08/war-in-time-of-cholera.html


Cholera, a traditional traveling companion of war, is easily treated with modern medicine. But where social cohesion has frayed to the point where cholera breaks out, the distribution of medical aid to combat the effects of cholera is made difficult or impossible. Cholera can kill otherwise healthy adults in a matter of a couple of days if not hours if untreated. I understand that The Decider's aims and standard is emphatically not "no-violence" in Iraq, but if cholera reaches epidemic levels in Baghdad, he might be prompted to rethink his casual attitude towards delivery of basic utilities in Iraq's capital. The lights are off, the water is foul and now the plague has come.