SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- Authorities in the Dominican Republic are checking the water in a city in the south of the Caribbean country after a sharp rise in cholera in recent days.


The director of the Ministry of Health's water department says cholera has sickened at least 93 people in the past week in San Cristobal. None of the cases has been fatal.


Jose Joaquin Nunez says inspectors have fanned out to check distributors of water and water purifiers. Most Dominicans drink bottled or purified water because tap water isn't considered safe.


Cholera has sickened about 30,000 people and killed 454 in the Dominican Republic since November 2010. In neighboring Haiti, it has infected more than 700,000 people and caused 8,000 deaths since October 2010.




Loading Slideshow...



  • DOMINICAN REP-HEALTH-CHOLERA


    A woman with cholera receives medical attention at the Juan Pablo Pina Hospital in the town of San Cristobal, on August 27, 2013. According to local authorities, a new cholera outbreak this month --allegedly due to contaminated water-- has already left 49 people affected. AFP PHOTO / Erika SANTELICES (Photo credit should read ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP/Getty Images)




  • DOMINICAN REP-HEALTH-CHOLERA


    A woman (R) with cholera receives medical attention at the Juan Pablo Pina Hospital in the town of San Cristobal, on August 27, 2013. According to local authorities, a new cholera outbreak this month --allegedly due to contaminated water-- has already left 49 people affected. AFP PHOTO / Erika SANTELICES (Photo credit should read ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP/Getty Images)




  • DOMINICAN REP-HEALTH-CHOLERA


    Two nurses chat at the hospital chapel --now used as an emergency ward for cholera patients-- at the Juan Pablo Pina Hospital in the town of San Cristobal, on August 27, 2013. According to local authorities, a new cholera outbreak this month --allegedly due to contaminated water-- has already left 49 people affected. AFP PHOTO / Erika SANTELICES (Photo credit should read ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP/Getty Images)




  • DOMINICAN REP-HEALTH-CHOLERA


    A woman (R) with cholera receives medical attention at the Juan Pablo Pina Hospital in the town of San Cristobal, on August 27, 2013. According to local authorities, a new cholera outbreak this month --allegedly due to contaminated water-- has already left 49 people affected. AFP PHOTO / Erika SANTELICES (Photo credit should read ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP/Getty Images)




  • DOMINICAN REP-HEALTH-CHOLERA


    Women with cholera receive medical attention at the Juan Pablo Pina Hospital in the town of San Cristobal, on August 27, 2013. According to local authorities, a new cholera outbreak this month --allegedly due to contaminated water-- has already left 49 people affected. AFP PHOTO / Erika SANTELICES (Photo credit should read ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP/Getty Images)