Seventy Indians killed by Cholera

Heavy rains that caused flooding and unsafe sanitary conditions in eastern India had led to cholera outbreak that has killed up to 70 people.

"All the deaths have occurred within the span of the last one month," Chinmoy Basu, a senior official in the state of Orissa's health and family welfare department, said late Monday.

The affected districts, Rayagara and Koraput, are about 390 and 500 kilometers (240 and 310 miles) southwest of the Orissa state capital, Bhubaneswar.

Medical teams have been sent to the affected areas and the situation is now under control, Basu said.

Cholera is a severe gastrointestinal disease often caused by consuming water or food contaminated with fecal matter.

Thousands of people around India have suffered from waterborne illnesses since the start of the monsoon season in June this year.

Monsoon rains - vital to farmers but often deadly - usually hit India from June to September. During this year's monsoon season, more than 2,200 people have been killed by heavy flooding, collapsing houses and other rain-related incidents.