Over 500 dead as Congo's cholera epidemic spreads: WHO

The WHO said at least 528 people had died and the epidemichad spread to 20 of Congo's 26 provinces.

"The risk of spread remains very high towards the GrandKasai region, where degraded sanitary and security conditionsfurther increase vulnerability in the face of the epidemic," theWHO said in a statement.

So far, health officials have recorded more than 24,000suspected cases of the disease across the vast nation this year,averaging more than 1,500 new cases per week since the end ofJuly.

The WHO sent a team of experts including epidemiologists andpublic health specialists to Congo this month in an effort tocontain the disease's spread.