Rise in Cholera Predicted in Mexico

Mexican health officials are predicting a sharp rise in cholera this year, but so far, health officials in the United States say the disease does not appear to have spread to tourist centers.

Speaking in Monterrey, capital of the northern state of Nuevo Leon, Mexican Undersecretary of Health Gilberto Lopez Betancourt said cholera is on the rise all over Mexico. According to the Associated Press, he said the situation was comparable to that in 1993, when close to 11,100 people came down with the disease.

The federal government has announced a state of emergency in the northern states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Durango, Chihuahua and Nuevo Leon because of a severe drought, which is also affecting south Texas. The drought is partly blamed for the latest cholera outbreak because clean water for drinking and bathing is scarce in some areas. Cholera, an acute diarrheal illness, can be life threatening, but is easily prevented and treated. A person may get cholera by drinking or eating contaminated food or water.

In a bid to stop cholera from spreading, the health department in Monterrey has mounted a campaign to prohibit the sale of oysters, raw seafood and fruit juices. But dozens of vendors were still hawking seafood and juices in the streets, Associated Press reported.

A spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta said the agency has received only sketchy information on the outbreak, but added that early reported rumors of cholera in popular tourist areas appear to be false at this point.