At least eight people, including six children, have died in a cholera outbreak in Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province this week, raising the death toll to 12 over the past three weeks, the local health officials said yesterday. The latest deaths were reported from the Cheena Khundi area of Musakhel district, where six children and two adult men lost their lives. According to local health authorities, at least 14 cholera patients are currently undergoing treatment in the affected area. Cholera is an acute infection caused by ingesting the bacteria Vibrio cholerae present in contaminated water or food, resulting in life-threatening diarrhoea that requires urgent medical treatment.