Cuba says cholera kills three, blames bad water wells

Cuba says cholera kills three, blames bad water wells
HAVANA | Tue Jul 3, 2012 7:21pm EDT

(Reuters) - Three people have died of cholera and another 50 have been
diagnosed with the illness in an outbreak caused by contaminated well
water, the Cuban government said on Tuesday.

It blamed recent heavy rains and high temperatures for the water
problems, which forced the closure of some wells and the chlorination of
the water system in the hardest hit areas.

The Public Health Ministry said in a statement that the township of
Mazanillo in the southeast province of Granma had suffered the most
cholera cases, which have occurred in the last few weeks, but that the
outbreak is slowing.

It said the three people who died ranged in age from 66 to 95 and
suffered from other, chronic health problems.

Cholera outbreaks have been rare, or at least not publicized, in Cuba
since the 1959 revolution and the creation of a national health system
by the communist government.

Cholera causes intestinal problems and can lead to death if not treated
promptly and properly.

Cuba has touted its medical role in nearby Haiti, where Cuban doctors
and nurses have worked since that country's 2010 earthquake to, among
other things, contain a cholera outbreak that has killed more than 7,000
people.

It is not unusual for Cubans to complain that the government sends too
many of its doctors abroad to earn money for the country and promote its
humanitarian image and has left the national health system short of
qualified medical personnel and medicines.

Cuba's health ministry said it has the "resources necessary for the
adequate attention to patients in all the health institutions" during
this cholera outbreak.

(Reporting by Jeff Franks; Editing by Kevin Gray and Christopher Wilson)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/03/us-cuba-cholera-idUSBRE8621ER20120703