"A major international newswire is reporting today that the Somalian capital, Mogadishu, is becoming overrun with cholera cases, and that the disease has spread to other parts of the country. Last week in Mogadishu there were 60 deaths, 19 of which were at the only hospital that has a operational quarantine. However, the hospital director, Dr. Abdirizak Hassan Ali, said the facility cannot cope any longer with a cholera case load of over 600 cases and more patients trying to get in, a growing shortage of medical supplies with only partial replenishment by the International Red Cross, and no fuel for generating electricity. The death rate, said Dr. Osman Mohamud Dufle of the Joint Health Authority, exceeds 20 per cent. According to Dr. Dufle, the health authority has no resources to use in distributing the 500 cartons of drugs and rehydration solutions contributed by the European Union. An appeal is being made for the return of international aid agencies to the capital city where, in the words of Drs. Ali and Dufle, the security situation is "relatively okay." --Dorothy Preslar <dpreslar@fas.org> via PROMED <promed@usa.healthnet.org>