Two Iraqi deaths blamed on cholera

BAGHDAD, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Two children have died in Iraq from what is suspected to be cholera, which has been blamed for at least 28 other similar infections, sources say.

Medical sources in Baghdad said there are 30 suspected cases of the potentially deadly bacterial infection in Iraq, including a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old who are dead, the Kuwait News Agency KUNA reported Thursday.

The younger patient died Wednesday in the Misan governorate after being diagnosed with cholera, while the 6-year-old showed signs of the rapid illness before dying.

The total of 29 suspected cases and one diagnosed case of cholera come after a major outbreak of the disease hit Iraq in July 2007, KUNA said.

Sources told the news agency that contaminated water was likely to blame for the disease's 2007 spread and for the deaths of at least nine other people before the outbreak was contained in October 2007.