23 die from cholera in Nepal

The death toll from an outbreak of cholera

reached 23 in the mid-western districts of Nepal, local media

reported Wednesday.

   Officials said it had reached epidemic proportions in Nepalganj, 

300 kilometres south-west of Kathmandu, where seven people had died

and several hundred were hospitalized, Republica newspaper reported.

   State-run Nepal Television said many victims had not received

treatment due to lack of space in hospitals.

   Cholera was detected in 14 out of 21 samples from Nepalganj,

according to the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division. Schools

were closed for for three days.

   Five people have died of diarrhoea-related causes in mid-western

Jajarkot district, health officials said. Some 200 people died of

similar illnesses in the district last year.