Inaccurate, simply untrue and cannot be proved scientifically
The Ministry of Health has denied newspaper reports that at least 1,000 have died of cholera in southern Iraq. (Editor’s note see Maryam’s remarks on the report ” at the start of this posting “1,000 feared dead of Cholera in Iraq”)
A health ministry spokesman told Azzaman that the reports were “simply untrue.”
It said the latest cholera outbreak had killed only five people and the number of cases was less than a hundred.
Local newspapers including the domestic edition of Azzaman reported unidentified members of parliament as saying that the government was hiding figures on cholera-related cases and deaths.
They said at least 1,000 people had died due to the disease.
“The reports carried by some media outlets relying on parliamentary sources are incorrect,” the spokesman told Azzaman.
“This information is in accurate, simply untrue and cannot be proved scientifically.”
The coverage of the diseases has terrified the country’s population. Local newspapers have also quoted unidentified Health Ministry officials as fearing that the disease had reached epidemic proportions.
Contaminated water is believed to be the main cause for transmitting the disease due to rusty and broken pipes through which sometimes heavy water is carried to household taps.
Running water is very scarce in many provinces, forcing people to drink from rivers or stagnant ponds.
Last year there were more than 4,000 confirmed cholera cases in Iraq – the vast majority in the Kurdish-controlled northern region.
Source: Ministry denies cholera had killed 1,000 people By Anwar Jumaa, September 17, 2008 Azzaman in English
Indexed under: al-Zamman, Cholera, Follow Up, الكوليرا