MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexican authorities say cholera has sickened 159 people, including one who died, and spread to four states and the capital. It is the first local spread of the disease since an outbreak that ended in 2001.
Health Secretary Mercedes Juan says one person died in the central state of Hidalgo, where 145 of the cases have been reported.
Juan said Monday the illness has also been detected in Veracruz, San Luis Potosi, Mexico City and neighboring Mexico state.
The secretary says the source of the disease in Hidalgo state seems to be a river into which sewage water drains. She says communities nearby use it as a source of fresh water.
Cholera is a waterborne disease that can kill quickly through severe dehydration, but is treatable if detected in time.
