SANTO DOMINGO – Health authorities in the Dominican Republic confirmed Saturday another case of cholera in the country, raising to 16 the number of people infected with the disease.

The last case registered is a 39-year-old man living in the southwestern province of San Juan de la Maguana, according to a communique from the Health Ministry.

The man, who was examined at a hospital in that city, “is at home in good health, with follow-up care provided by staff of the Public Health Ministry” in the region, the source said.

According to his medical file, the patient is a driver who has frequent contact with Haitians who cross the border from Haiti, where cholera has taken 1,882 lives since its first outbreak last October.

The local health minister, Bautista Rojas Gomez, said in the communique that the cholera situation in the country “remains under strict observation by health authorities and measures to prevent the disease are being taking nationwide.”

The Dominican Republic launched this week a national campaign to fight cholera, which will include visits to a million families with information on how to prevent the disease and will involve some 100,000 volunteers.