By Osman Hassan Associated Press Writer
MOGADISHU,
Somalia –– Cholera has killed as many as 25 people in
southern Somalia in two days, and health officials said Saturday
they fear the waterborne disease could spread.
Officials
said more than 80 people have been hospitalized in the town of
Adaleh and in six surrounding villages. Adaleh is about 140 miles
northeast of Mogadishu.
Ali Omar Mohamed,
an elder in the worst affected village, Harur Hajji Ali, said
15 people have died of cholera since Friday, including four on
Saturday.
Speaking by
radio, he added that the bodies of 10 camel herders, also apparently
victims of cholera, had been brought to his village from outlying
areas.
Health authorities
expressed concern over the intensity of the disease and the large
area that appears to be affected. Poor roads and a lack of vehicles
has made it difficult for the sick to reach medical facilities.
Local aid
workers and the Spanish branch of Doctors without Borders have
begun trying to contain the disease. Water purification operations
and public awareness programs have already begun in some villages
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