2007 Iraq cholera outbreak

A lack of clean drinking water in Iraq in 2007 has led to an outbreak of cholera.

According to Dr. Ryadh Abdul Ameer, the director of the Basra health ministry, basic water sterilization has become impossible in some places due to restrictions on the availability of chlorine for water sterilization.

According to the Associated Press, a shipment of 100,000 tons of chlorine is held up at the Jordanian border because of government restrictions on chlorine based on concerns that the chemical could be used in explosives.