Death toll hits 12 as cholera spreads in Iraq*

    * Story Highlights
    * Woman lived in southern outskirts of Baghdad
    * Outbreak started in north; cases now confirmed in central,
southeast Iraq
    * World Health Organization blames outbreak on dirty water
    * Agency says chlorine needed for water treatment

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A 40-year-old woman who lived in the southern
Baghdad outskirts has died of cholera, the 12th death in Iraq from a
recent outbreak of the disease, an Iraqi Health Ministry spokesman said
Thursday.

Polluted water and litter line the edge of a vegetable market in Basra,
Iraq.

This death comes amid growing concern in war-torn Iraq about the
deteriorating infrastructure, and cholera is prevalent in areas where
the water quality is poor.

The World Health Organization, which issued an update Tuesday on
cholera, blames the outbreak on poor water quality and sewage treatment
and cited a shortage of chlorine, which the agency said is "urgently
needed" for water treatment.

Cholera is a bacterial ailment that affects the intestinal tract and is
usually contracted by consuming contaminated water. Victims are stricken
with a sudden onset of acute watery diarrhea, which can cause death by
severe dehydration and kidney failure.

An outbreak of cholera was first reported in northern Iraq last month
and has been spreading to other parts of the country, according to the
WHO, which issued an update about the problem on Tuesday.

The WHO said that 2,116 cases of cholera have been confirmed across the
country, and that more than 30,000 people have been sickened by acute
watery diarrhea.

Sixty-eight percent of the lab-confirmed cases have been reported in
Tameem province, where Kirkuk is located and where the ailment was first
detected. It spread to the Iraqi Kurdish provinces of Sulaimaniya and
Irbil, the organization said.

As of Tuesday, six cases were confirmed in Tikrit, two in Mosul, and one
in Duhuk, all in the north; one in Baghdad; and one in Basra in the
southeast, the WHO said.

The WHO said that the "case fatality rate is 0.52 percent and has
remained low throughout the outbreak. The Health Ministry said that
along with the Baghdad death, nine have been reported in Sulaimaniya,
one in Kirkuk and one in Nineveh province.

The agency said it "does not recommend any special restrictions to
travel or trade to or from affected areas" in controlling the spread of
the ailment.

Iraq is implementing preventive measures "to reduce the risk of
transmission to unaffected areas." But it cites "a severe shortage of
chlorination products" and the urgent need for proper water treatment.

"Provision of safe water is the highest priority in controlling an
outbreak of cholera," according to the WHO.