A new wave of cholera cases has prompted the Dominican Republic to declare the maximum state of alert in it's capital city, Santo Domingo, following specific outbreaks in 17 neighborhoods.
Health workers and epidemiologists were dispatched to the affected neighborhoods to search for people with symptoms of the waterborne disease and distribute disinfecting supplies.
Authorities have also prohibited fishing and other activites in the Ozama river that runs through Santo Domingo in order to prevent more cholera contamination.
Vice Minister of Health José Rodríguez said Monday that 16 people are hospitalized with suspected cholera. He says all are in stable condition but there have been two deaths in recent days.
Fourteen people have died from Cholera and 750 cases have been detected in the Dominican Republic since the October of 2010. Cholera has affected 300,000 people and killed nearly 5,000 in neighboring Haiti.
Based on reporting by the Associated Press.
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