13 dead in cold wave in Peru
Lima (dpa) - Intense cold weather
in Peru has killed 13 children in the last few days in the impoverished
province of Huancavelica, El Comercio newspaper reported Monday.
The youngsters died of cold-related diseases, primarily pneumonia, caused by very low temperatures in the region more than 400 kilometres southeast of Lima, the report said.
Health officials said that 16,800 cases of acute respiratory infections and 370 of non-fatal pneumonia have also been linked to the freeze, in which temperatures dropped to 6 degrees below zero Centigrade in mountainous parts of Huancavelica.
The cold wave also affected animals, with 400 alpacas coming down with pneumonia during the ongoing winter in the Souther Hemisphere, El Comercio said. dpa am ff
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Received by NewsEdge Insight: 08/18/2003 13:28:51
- Deutsche Presse Agentur
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