Since November, over 5,000 cases of cholera have been reported in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, with 407 resulting deaths, but over the past week the death rate decreased from 11 percent to 6 percent, says Congo Health Ministry advisor Mobile Kampanga. Cholera is spread through contaminated food and water; however, if properly treated, the disease usually kills less than 1 percent of patients. The four-year war in the region has inhibited cholera relief efforts, but last week an emergency team from the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Health Organization, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator, and Doctors Without Borders went to Congo in an effort to control the epidemic.