Cholera outbreak kills two in Iraq

Two people have died in a cholera outbreak in an Iraqi province south of Baghdad, indicating that water quality and sanitation remain poor in a country that has endured years of war, health officials said today.

Officials in Babil province reported at least 90 cases of cholera since the waterborne disease hit the area this month, but the Health Ministry in Baghdad said only 20 cases had been confirmed and that test results were pending on 15 more possible cases.