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April 10, 2002

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Cholera Kills More Than 50 in Somalia"

Associated Press (www.ap.org) (04/08/02); Hassan, Osman

In the Somalian towns of Beletwein and Jilib, more than 50 people have died as a result of cholera, with many more infected with the disease.  The start of the dry season, as it has in the past, has forced Somalians to drink water from stagnant, cholera-infected pools of water in the Shabelle River, which leads to cholera symptoms, such as severe diarrhea and dehydration.  No alternative water supplies currently exist, because Somalia lacks an effective central government and infrastructure of health facilities, explains Somali Red Crescent Society head Abdiweli Sheikh Mohamud.

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