Hiran,(jnsidesomalia.org)-At least 39 people have died since the start of the month in an outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea in southern Somalia's Hiraan region, medical sources said Thursday.

"We recorded around 300 cases of acute watery diarrhoea since the first week of April up to the 16th and so far 39 of them have died," Hadi Abdi Yusuf, director of the Jalalqsi hospital, told AFP.

The area is located around 170 kilometres (105 miles) north of the capital Mogadishu and the doctor said the outbreak was caused by deficient hygiene and a prolonged dry season.

Most of the victims are children under the age of five and 98 percent in the affected region cannot afford basic medecines.

Several people had died in another acute watery diarrhoea outbreak in southwestern Somalia in February.

Acute watery diarrhoea is common among people with suppressed immunity. Severe diarrhoea and accompanied vomiting can lead to light-headedness, weakness, confusion, kidney failure and even death.

Source: Shabelle Media Network

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