Cholera claims 21
2006-04-19 13:00
Ali Sultan
Zanzibar - A month-long outbreak of cholera has killed 21 people and stricken 253 in mainland Tanzania and the semiautonomous Zanzibar archipelago, the country's health officials said on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the Dar es Salaam city council, Gaston Makwembe, said 12 people have died in the past four days, and 115 were taken to hospitals in Tanzania's commercial capital.
He said nine people have died of the disease in Zanzibar in the past month, and 137 cases have been reported.
<>Zanzibar's health minister Sultan Mugheiry said those infected were in special government camps in an attempt to curb the disease.
Last month, Zanzibar banned the sale of food and juice on the street, and closed some local restaurants in attempts to stop the disease from spreading.
Mugheiry said: "We are confident that the situation is under control."
Cholera has erupted across East Africa, after heavy rains in the region.
- AP