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680 Die in Ethiopia Cholera Outbreak

More than 680 people have died in a suspected cholera outbreak in Ethiopia that has also affected neighboring countries, officials said Wednesday.

Some 60,000 people have been infected, but the country's Health Ministry is resisting pressure to declare an emergency.

Some 60,000 people have been infected, but the country's Health Ministry is resisting pressure to declare an emergency despite a U.N. warning that the disease is an epidemic. "The fact that it is spreading to new areas in the country is cause for serious concern," said Paul Hebert, head of the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Ethiopia. "The full extent of this needs to be addressed."

The U.N. has not officially declared the outbreak, which began nearly a year ago, to be cholera. But U.N. officials speaking privately because of the sensitivity of the issue are saying it is cholera, something local officials continue to deny.

More: "Fatal outbreak not a cholera epidemic, insists Ethiopia". Of course not.

Posted by: Fred 2007-02-22

http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=181144