WHO says cholera kills 26 in South Africa

GENEVA, Switzerland (Reuters) -- An outbreak of cholera has killed 26 people in South Africa's eastern Kwazulu-Natal province since the first case was reported in August, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.

A total of 3,075 cases of cholera have now been registered in the Lower Umfolozi districts, the Geneva-based United Nations health agency said in a statement.

WHO did not say where the disease had originated, but neighboring Mozambique had an outbreak of cholera earlier this year following floods.

Cholera, which kills by causing diarrhea so severe that victims die of shock from loss of fluids, spreads via contaminated water.

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