17 Die of Cholera in Somali Refugee Camps

NAIROBI, Kenya — At least 17 people have died of cholera in the last month in refugee camps in Somalia, a U.N. official said Tuesday.

Gary Troeller, deputy director for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Somalia, disputed Somali claims that 10 people a day are dying from the disease.

But he warned that “as soon as the rainy season arrives, and it should not be long until it does, cholera could spread around very fast if we don’t manage to contain it beforehand.”