BAGHDAD, Nov 15 (Reuters) - An Iraqi child has died from cholera after falling ill at a Baghdad orphanage that became infamous this year when starving, naked children were discovered tied to their beds, a health official said on Thursday. Adel Muhsan, general inspector for Iraq's Health Ministry, said the boy, believed to be around 12 years old, died from the virulent disease on Wednesday at a Baghdad hospital. Four more children, boys and girls all under the age of 14, living at the al-Hanan orphanage in Baghdad's Utaifiya neighbourhood were also diagnosed with cholera and remained under hospital care, Muhsan said. The cholera cases were confirmed several days after a dozen children at the orphanage came down with diarrhoea, he said. The public orphanage made headlines this summer when U.S. soldiers helped rescue two dozen children found naked and severely malnourished in darkened rooms. Many had been tied to their beds and were too weak to stand. After the incident, the boy's section of the orphanage was closed, and the boys were moved to a nearby building where the girls were housed. Muhsan blamed the cholera cases on a water tank on the orphanage's roof that had not been properly cleaned or maintained. "We have a team that is always visiting the (orphanage)," he said, adding that orphanage officials had not responded to recommendations on clean water from the Health Ministry. Orphanage officials could not be reached immediately for comment. There have been at least 4,400 cases of cholera, which can kill victims with sudden, severe diarrhoea, in Iraq since an outbreak in August of this year, chiefly in the northern provinces. Cholera is spread mainly through water and food. But the government has taken steps to curb the problem with a public awareness campaign and monitoring of the disease. (Reporting by Wisam Mohammed; writing by Missy Ryan; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
