US diarrhoea report shocks Botswana

The Ministry of Health has expressed shock at American news reports linking the outbreak of diarrhoea in Botswana last year to HIV/AIDS.
Says MoH spokesman Colo Boitshoko: "We saw the report. It shocked everyone. But there is no truth in what it is saying. At this point, we have decided not to release any official statement regarding the report.

"Our position remains the same as always about the 2006 diarrhoea outbreak. After a meeting with Ministry officials, we thought we should just ignore the report."
The report, in the influential Washington Post newspaper of July 23, linked the 532 Batswana children's deaths that occurred at the height of the diarrhoea epidemic early last year to bottle-feeding as a safer alternative to breastfeeding by HIV-positive mothers.