Cholera spreads in Cuba

Three people have died of cholera and another 50 have been diagnosed with the illness in an outbreak caused by contaminated well water, the Cuban government said on Tuesday.

However, independent media reporting about of 15 died of the disease.

It blamed recent heavy rains and high temperatures for the water problems, which forced the closure of some wells and the chlorination of the water system in the hardest hit areas.

The Public Health Ministry said in a statement that the township of Mazanillo in the southeast province of Granma had suffered the most cholera cases, which have occurred in the last few weeks.

It said the three people who died ranged in age from 66 to 95 and suffered from other, chronic health problems.