Cholera outbreak in Indonesia kills 141

A cholera outbreak in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua has killed 141 people in the last month and sickened another 2,500, a local health official said Friday.

Photo: Cholera outbreak in Indonesia kills 141

Berry Wopari blamed contaminated drinking water and lack of awareness for the spread of the disease in the mountainous region of Jayawijaya.

"We've set up more than a dozen health centers," he said, adding that it "looks like things are now under control."

Papua, one of Indonesia's most remote regions geographically and politically, is the scene of a decades-long separatist rebellion during which an estimated 100,000 have died, many through starvation or disease.

Access to foreigners is restricted and it was not immediately possible to verify Wopari's claims.

Cholera is transmitted through contaminated water and is linked to poor hygiene, overcrowding and bad sanitation. Symptoms include diarrhea and vomiting, which can kill unless treated quickly, reports the AP.