YANGON—Six people in Myanmar’s biggest city have tested positive for cholera, a junta spokesman said on Saturday, adding the regime had ordered the temporary closure of restaurants in the area.
Nine people living in a “squatter ward” in the commercial hub of Yangon were hospitalized for severe diarrhea and one later tested positive for cholera, according to spokesman Zaw Min Tun.
There were only 12 shared toilets for the settlement, which is home to more than 600 people, he said.
Subsequent tests at two hospitals in Yangon found five other cholera cases.
One person, who had been living with AIDS and was not tested for cholera, had died, the statement said.
Meanwhile, outbreaks of ordinary diarrhea have been reported in a number of townships in Yangon Region since June 25, the junta said in another statement issued on Sunday.
On July 7, a total of 44 diarrhea patients were receiving medical treatments at hospitals in Yangon, two of whom were suffering from severe diarrhea, with the remaining 42 experiencing normal symptoms of the disease, it said.
The day before, 63 new diarrhea cases were reported, it stated, adding that health officials are boosting control measures in an effort to prevent further cases.
The junta’s Health Ministry sent out a text message to mobile phone users warning them to take additional hygiene precautions.
Cholera is an infectious disease caused by eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated with the bacterium V. cholerae, according to the World Health Organization.
Typically causing severe diarrhea, vomiting and muscle cramps, it spreads easily in unsanitary conditions.
The WHO said researchers estimate there are 1.3 million to 4 million cases of cholera each year worldwide, with up to 143,000 people dying from the disease.
Additional reporting by The Irrawaddy
