100,000 South Africans Affected by Cholera EpidemicThe number of people infected by a cholera outbreak in the South Africa's eastern KwaZulu-Natal province broke the 100,000 mark on Monday, and authorities said there was no end in sight to the epidemic.Since it surfaced last August, the highly infectious, waterborne disease has claimed the lives of 208 people, mostly poor rural dwellers without access to clean water and proper sanitation. In the early 1980s, South Africa's worst cholera epidemic infected more than 105,400 people over a four-year period. More than 340 people died. Although the numbers of new cases are declining, the current epidemic continues to infect up to 250 people a day. Provincial health authorities said Monday 100,028 people had been infected since August. |
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