BINTULU has been declared a cholera area, after 33 people aged between 2 and 84 were infected since the first case was detected on July 14.
Local Government and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh said 11 areas were affected.
He added that the source of the outbreak was the contaminated Sungai Kemena.
The state Health Department found that regatta participants from two villages and one longhouse -- Kampung Jepak here, Kampung Hilir in Sebauh and Rumah Gawan in Sungai Sebauh -- were also infected. They had come to Bintulu to take part in the races and lived in temporary shelters near the river.
The department said the stalls at the Ramadan bazaar in the town had also been contaminated.
By Thursday, officials had tested 140 people who showed symptoms of the infection.
Of these, 33 were tested positive, 55 tested negative and 52 cases are still pending.
Officials also detected nine people with the bacterium, vibrio cholerae.
The 11 areas declared cholera-positve are Rumah Panjang Gawan, Kampung Jepak, Kampung Sebauh Hilir in Sebauh, Rumah Usah in Sungai Segan, Setinggan Mozako, Kampung Assyikirin, Kampung Sinong in Jalan Masjid, Setinggan Hock Peng Tanjung Kidurong, Batu 10 Jalan Bintulu in Miri, Kampung Baru and Kirana palm oil/brightwood quarters and the Kemena industrial estate.
Wong advised the Ramadan bazaar traders to go for cholera screening at the old Bintulu health clinic from 8am to 10pm daily.
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